FA investigators will look at Ciaron Brown’s phone and scrutinise the Oxford United defender’s recent calls, texts and social media traffic as part of their probe into potential spot-fixing in their FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on Monday.
Sportsmail revealed last night that the FA had begun investigating after receiving evidence of an alleged betting scam, including WhatsApp messages from before kick-off which claimed that Brown would definitely be booked during the third-round tie on Monday.
The FA have the power to interview all related parties and demand they hand in their phones and laptops, with Brown’s devices understood to be the primary focus of their initial inquiries. The 24-year-old Northern Ireland defender was booked in the 59th minute of the game when the score was goalless for pulling down Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah before he went on to push midfielder Fabio Vieira.
FA investigators will look at Ciaron Brown’s (L) phone over a potential spot-fixing scandal
Brown committed several fouls during the match and was booked in Oxford’s loss to Arsenal
Several punters have contacted Sportsmail since our story was published on Tuesday night to say that they won thousands of pounds after placing bets at odds of 8/1. In addition, eyewitnesses at the Kassam Stadium claim they saw several Arsenal fans celebrating wildly after Brown was booked and boasting of their winnings, although there is no suggestion they were involved in any criminal activity.
Click Here: Italy National Team soccer tracksuit
Sportsmail has also learned however that several bookmakers have so far refused to pay out, due to suspicion over the betting patterns. The odds available on Brown being booked also collapsed from 8/1 on Monday morning to 7/2 shortly before kick-off in a strong indication of the weight of money placed on the outcome.
Oxford yesterday confirmed they had been made aware of the allegations and pledged to co-operate with the FA’s investigation, which is likely to include facilitating their collection of Brown’s devices.
The FA are investigating allegations of spot-fixing by Brown after he received a yellow card
‘Oxford United can confirm that they have been made aware of a specific allegation of irregular betting around our Emirates FA Cup game against Arsenal on Monday evening,’ a club statement read. ‘The club will co-operate fully with any investigation and while this is ongoing, we are unable to make any further comment.’
Industry experts appeared divided over the incident yesterday, with some attributing the amount of betting activity to a pricing error, but others suggesting there could be more to it. Brown spent most of his career as a centre-back until joining Oxford from Cardiff and switching to left-back last summer, with several analysts noting that a League One defender was always likely to be booked in a match against the Premier League leaders, in which he was asked to mark Bukayo Saka.
One leading bookmaker told Sportsmail that their losses were not excessive and that those they did incur were down to a Brown booking being overpriced, news of which was quickly spread on social media. Other firms appear to be more suspicious however, and are understood to be withholding the payment of winning bets until the FA investigation has concluded.
The FA have the power to interview all related parties and demand they hand in their phones and laptops, with Brown’s devices understood to be the primary focus of their initial inquiries
Another explanation given for the unusually high volume of betting is the rarity of markets on player bookings being available in matches featuring League One clubs, with most betting companies only offering them for televised games. According to this theory a number of Brown’s friends and/or Oxford fans may have taken advantage of a rare chance to bet on him being booked in sufficient numbers to dramatically alter the market.
Before Brown’s booking there were two incidents in the first half in which he escaped punishment for challenges on Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu, which could have led to yellow cards. In the 25th minute Brown apparently deliberately tried to pull Saka’s shirt as the England forward broke away from him in midfield.
Brown won the ball ahead of Saka further up the pitch, which led to the 21-year-old going down despite seemingly minimal contact. Referee David Coote stopped play to allow Saka to be treated, but did not penalise Brown. In a separate incident Brown also appeared to catch Arsenal’s Japanese defender Tomiyasu with his elbow during an aerial challenge for the ball.
The full scale of bookmakers’ liabilities due to Brown’s booking is unclear, but the FA are understood to be taking the matter seriously.