Wigan Athletic ownership betting rumour 'a red herring' - EFL chief

EFL chairman Rick Parry believes the 'baffling' decision taken to place Wigan Athletic in administration has nothing to do with rumours of the owners betting on the club to get relegated.
Rick ParryRick Parry
Rick Parry

An investigation is already under way to try to shed light on the jaw-dropping rumour, which was first mentioned by Parry himself last Thursday, during a chat with Latics season-ticket holder David Curtis, which was secretly filmed.

Parry says he was 'stitched up' by the release of the footage, which has further muddied the water of one of the most incredible stories to hit football in recent years.

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But he also reckons the tale is too far-fetched to be even vaguely plausible.

"It was really only gossip," he told the Wigan Post. "I'd been chatting to a club, who happened to say they'd been chatting to an agent.

"You've got to remember last week everyone was in a state of shock, because this was such an illogical sequence of events.

"You just don't buy a company for £40million and put it into administration...you may as well just set fire to a pile of money.

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"An owner putting his own club into administration is a very good way of destroying your own value.

"And certainly to do it within a month of acquiring just is...

"You look at the circumstances...the club were getting results on the pitch, clearly looking they were going to be safe in the Championship, with all the revenues that brings, £2.5million due in a couple of weeks time from the Premier League, a number of quality young players, very saleable assets.

"Why would anyone not want to get through to the end of the season, and then take stock?

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"When you get something so illogical, I think that tends to fuel rumours, and some wild rumours at that. So that was context."

Parry also reckons if any such bet had been placed, it would have come to attention by now.

"I'm not a gambler, I don't bet, but I have done a lot of work in the regulation of gambling," he added.

"The Philippines gambling market is not well regulated, but the bookmakers there aren't stupid.

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"If an owner comes to them and wants to wager £20million on their club to get relegated, you are not going to get anyone to take that bet.

"It's just totally implausible, totally illogical.

"You never know of course, and I know the gambling commission is looking into it.

"But again, because the worldwide betting market is an online market, information travels really quickly.

"So a large bet being placed in the Philippines...and because bookmakers lay their risks, to manage the risk... it would be picked up over here within half an hour.

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"People would know, somebody would know, alarm bells would have rung, the market would have been distorted.

"So it's very unlikely something like this wouldn't have been known about.

"The gambling commission of course will investigate, but I do think this is a red herring.

"As to what the owner's motivation was? Who knows. It's just baffling."