THE courage of Kyle Lafferty in admitting to his gambling problem is in stark contrast to the hypocrisy of the sport’s authorities.
It is well known that many professionals in football have had, and continue to have, serious problems with their addiction to gambling.
It is an increasing problem in society as a whole, and we are seeing precious little done to educate the public about the addictive nature of gambling.
Footballers with their strange hours of work are particularly at risk. They go from the adenalin surge of playing in front of thousands of people to having to spend most afternoons on their own, and it will come as no surprise to learn that a lot of footballers are not exactly spending their leisure hours studying for an Open University degree in philosophy.
No, their clubs usually let them away after lunchtime and unless they have wives and families, there is little to occupy their time.
Most players, though not all, tend to avoid bookmakers’ shops these days and bet online. That was not always the case, as The Rucker can personally remember a very well known Celtic player who practically lived in the corner of his local betting shop.
Card schools were another favourite form of gambling for players, and many an away journey was passed in a usually harmless game of pontoon or poker. One manager famously thought his boys were all having a wee bit of fun until he found out that the ‘pot’ had grown to a four figure sum – that was the end of that card school.
Some footballers got seriously into horse ownership and Mick Channon and Michael Owen are two men who took up the sport very seriously, the former as a trainer, the latter as owner of a training complex and a string of horses.
The vast majority of players, however, just like a flutter and frankly that is not a bad thing. It is when the ‘fun’ becomes addictive that players must find ways of kicking their habit and that’s not easy, as Kyle Lafferty found out.
So that’s why the Kicker is delighted at the intervention of John Hartson who has promised to do his utmost to help Lafferty.
Big John beat his own demons six years ago and now he will be in ex-Rangers player Lafferty’s corner to help him – that’s the real spirit of football.
Meanwhile, the cash-hungry authorities and clubs queue up to take the sponsorship money offered by the bookmakers, and while the likes of the SPFL pay lip service to ‘gambling awareness’ they just can’t see the dangers of allowing football to be connected with gambling.
I don’t expect them to give up all connections to such firms, and nor do I blame the betting companies for attaching themselves to football, but here’s one suggestion to help the likes of Lafferty and all footballers, professional and amateur, who have gambling addictions.
Next time they sign a contract with a gambling company, let the SPFL, SFA and all member clubs agree to pay a small levy to go towards those organisations who work with gambling addicts.
We could call it the Lafferty Levy.
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