John Fallon: D-Day looming in League of Ireland betting dilemma
Written on their chests: Shamrock Rovers' Andy Lyons with goalkeeper Alan Mannus and the club's gambling sponsor prominently on their jerseys. Photo: INPHO/Evan Treacy
The irony won’t be lost on Sligo Rovers Chairman Tommy Higgins if their principled stance ultimately costs them against the champions on Friday.
Shamrock Rovers are one of the 14 clubs throughout the Irish, English and Scottish top-flights to display a betting company across their jersey as main sponsor.
Sligo, along with Drogheda United, are railing against the trend as the two League of Ireland clubs part of the “Big Step” campaign aimed at abolishing all forms of bookmaker advertising in football.
Principles, while noble, can come at a price, even if the pain is tolerable in the context of wider gains. Expectations for the pair of Rovers differ this season; one settling for nothing less than a third title in a row, the other centred on retaining their European spot.
Various reasons account for the disparity but resources are primary and that stems from commercial income. Both attracted offers from gaming companies eager to maximise the booming football market, with contrasting responses. While the Hoops are in the second season of a two-year partnership with 888.com – a decision, according to Chairman Ciarán Medlar “they didn’t take lightly” – the Bit O’Red stuck with their conscience.
“The difference in Friday’s match could be the quality on their bench, which might be funded by betting sponsorship,” said Higgins, whose business background was founding the company that became Ticketmaster.
“We could have accepted two five-figure deals but felt, as custodians of a club steeped in the community, we had a moral obligation to reject the offers.
“Our club doesn’t have a sugar daddy and is totally reliant on locality to support the running of the club. In turn, we have a social responsibility to them.
“This is our first year entering a women’s team into the senior national league and we’ve got an enthusiastic response in terms of families coming to our games.
“They are our future and we’ve to look after that so partnering with a betting company just didn’t smell right. No longer do punters have to get up off their couch and visit a betting shop; the smartphone provides the instant gratification of placing a bet on live sport.
“I enjoy the odd flutter on an event like the Grand National but gambling addiction ruins lives.
“There’s been enough high-profile cases across sport to see what effect it can have.”
That includes League of Ireland players. Karl Sheppard parked his past attachment to Rovers aside when publicly slating an advertising stunt by the club. The imminent signing they’d flagged was a racehorse.
"When you are in a LOI dressing room, you will see lads really struggling with gambling addiction and retired players are now getting into real trouble because of this addiction,” he said.
"To see a great club like Shamrock Rovers promote gambling to this level is sickening to be honest."
For all the entertainment value George O’Callaghan brought to Cork City fans in the 2000s, few would have known the demons he was battling with alcohol and betting. He checked into Tony Adams’ Sporting Chance clinic to address his issues.
Though ex-Shelbourne and Bohemians defender Dan Byrne and former Waterford striker Michael O’Connor revealed their betting habits of their own volition, other horror stories have only emerged in courtrooms.
During the sentencing hearings of Keith Quinn and Jake Kelly for separate drug convictions in the past year, debts from wagers were cited in defence was their vulnerability. Indeed, Kelly’s counsel, Fiona Murphy SC, spoke in open court about a “gambling culture” that pervaded the semi-professional football industry.
Higgins stops short of imploring fellow clubs to replicate their stance, a pattern his counterpart at Drogheda Conor Hoey believes is necessary for the League of Ireland as a whole to lead by example.
The FAI had to grapple with the conundrum too. Lucrative proposals have been scarce since their last marquee sponsor Three quit in 2020 at the height of their governance crisis but a tempting approach from a gambling firm was weighed up against the moral compass.
“The board took a decision in January of last year not to accept sponsorship from betting companies,” said the FAI yesterday. “This decision also applies to the League of Ireland on a central basis. Individual clubs are free to make their own decisions in this area.”
Higgins has no gripe with the FAI’s autonomous policy, emphatic that the onus to regulate the area rests in the State’s control.
Mark Scanlon was beginning his first full season as League of Ireland director when facing the heat over the deals hatched by the top two of the era, Rovers and Dundalk, with betting corporations.
In summation, they are leaving it to the legislators to legislate, never a reliable method in the precarious world of politics. President Michael D Higgins has been the trailblazing figure in authority, decrying the proliferation of betting ads as “damaging to families.”
The affable Higgins views it as inevitable that gambling will follow tobacco into the outlawed category of sponsorship deals for sport. He’s just not sure when.
Set against the powerful betting lobby, progress through the statute books has been slow.
Labour Party senator Mark Wall last year introduced a bill to completely ban gambling advertising in Ireland, a process recently surpassing the second stage in Seanad Éireann.
“We’d love for football and clubs to self-regulate and cease all partnerships with gambling companies but, although we now have 25 clubs supporting us, we don’t think this will happen completely,” said Tom Fleming of the Gambling with Lives, a group established by the families and friends of young people who had taken their own lives as a direct result of gambling.
In a league still starved of investment, those torn by the lure of easy cash would be minded to act before being compelled to abort. That’s an odds-on probability.
Two derbies 175 miles apart on Friday night threw up contrasting storylines – not least the Cork clash trumping the Dubs for turnout.
Cobh Ramblers and Cork City attracting 3,942 to St Colman’s Park, the largest at the venue for 13 years, was the latest boon in a First Division campaign capturing the public’s imagination.
Cork’s 3-2 victory supplied more evidence of the leaders’ credentials, while reasserting Cobh’s status as resilient Ramblers following a sticky run.
The excitement on and off the pitch wasn’t matched in Dalymount. In fairness to Bohemians, they could have sold out their restricted capacity twice over but the antipathy between themselves and Shamrock Rovers made for an evening of toxicity.
Bohs manager Keith Long wasn’t best pleased with the stewarding for a flair invasion from the Rovers end that delayed kick-off by eight minutes.
It was the first time since 2019 an away allocation of tickets was granted and might be the last for a while based upon a strongly-worded statement issued by the Gypsies to members with 24 hours.
“We particularly wish to thank supporters for not rising to the persistent incendiary attempts by members of the Shamrock Rovers backroom team to provoke a reaction from them after the game,” was one of the more stinging excerpts from their update.
Fervour among the Hoops’ staff may be due to the broadening gap they’ve generated over their once bogey team. Deep down, that might be the most hurtful aspect.
Jayson Molumby has become the first among a rump of Irish players to have their future resolved by joining West Bromwich Albion permanently.
A loan signing from Brighton and Hove Albion on the final day of the August transfer window, the Baggies had the option of buying the Waterford native.
Despite his predecessor Valerien Ismael recruiting Molumby, Steve Bruce was content to finalise the deal. The 22-year-old has made 29 appearances over what’s been an underwhelming season for the Baggies.
"He's a young player who's got a lot to learn still, but he wants to win,” Bruce said of the midfielder. “He’s got a bit of an attitude with him, which I like.”
Other players whose future have yet to be decided include Darragh Lenihan and Conor Hourihane. Captain Lenihan helped Blackburn Rovers remain in the playoff hunt by scoring in the win over Preston North End but he’s yet to sign a contract extension.
Also heading for free agent status is Hourihane, currently on loan to Blackburn’s chief rival for a top-six finish, Sheffield United. The Corkman has admitted his time at Aston Villa is up.
Jeff Hendrick still has two years to run on his deal at Newcastle United but unlikely to be wanted by the big spenders when his loan to QPR expires shortly. As one of Ireland’s leading lights, the 30-year-old’s next move will be crucial.
email: john.fallon@examiner.ie
