Limavady betting hearing takes place

Two of the three players subject to the IFA investigation told the Sentinel that they have done no wrong, while the third player said that he was unaware he was breaking any rules.

The betting controversy erupted after a series of bets were placed ahead of Dergview’s recent two-nil victory over the Roesiders.

Bookmaker Paddy Power has supplied their records of bets placed ahead of Dergview’s recent two-nil victory over Limavady.

The three Limavady United players - Trevor Parkhill, Richard Close and goalkeeper Laurence McCormick – faced an IFA disciplinary hearing on Friday, although a spokesperson for the Association told the Sentinel last night that “investigations are ongoing.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of Limavady United FC David Brewster said that the club are still awaiting the outcome of the hearing. He said: “The situation is that the IFA have the power to conduct an investigation into anything they feel is necessary. They had an investigation that was confidential on Friday that the players and the club attended.

“We would expect to get some indication as to the outcome of that hearing from the IFA in the near future.”

Limavady United took the decision to suspend the three players until May 1, 2013 in order to allow the Association to conduct its investigation.

Meanwhile, two of the three players -Richard Close and Laurence McCormick - deny any wrongdoing. Trevor Parkhill, however, admits placing a bet on the Dergview match for his father through his own betting account but said that he was not aware of regulations preventing him from doing so.

He said: “I always do an Irish league bet for my father as well as he had rung me about a few horses and he asked could I do a bet on Dergview as well. In fact from time to time my little brother would do the odd bet through my betting account as well. To be honest I never really thought anything about it because it was a small bet (£30), my father’s usual wager. The first thing I knew anything about it really was when they hadn’t paid out when the bet won.”

Another player, Richard Close, denies any wrongdoing on his part. He said: “Without a shadow of a doubt I feel that I am being wrongly accused for something that I strongly refute.” He added: “My younger brother placed a bet on this game but that’s something that’s beyond my control. This was a bet made on his own online bookmakers account and again something I have no control over.”

The third player, goalkeeper Laurence McCormick, said that he is unworried because he is assured of his innocence. He said: “One thing I am sure about however is the fact that I didn’t place a bet on our game against Dergview. In fact I didn’t place any bets that weekend at all and I know from my point of view I’m a winner and I want to win every game we play. To be honest I’m not that bothered; why should I be bothered about something that I know I didn’t do.”

A spokesperson for the Irish Football Association recently told the Sentinel that their investigation is moving quickly: “Paddy Power have sent us the details of the flurry of bets made on the game in question and we have since passed the details on to Limavady United Football Club. The details included the times of the bets and when they (Paddy Power) were first alerted to something irregular. They believed they could connect the account holder to the club so they approached us and we believed there was enough detail for us to proceed. At present any sanction has not be decided as we have yet to conclude the investigation but there would be repercussions from FIFA and UEFA if anyone was found to have broken the rules.”

Once the investigation by the IFA and Limavady United is complete, details will be passed on to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.