Norwich V Derby - Match Fixing Fixation

The Football Association in conjunction with The Gambling Commission have over the last few months been investigating allegations of unusual online betting patterns in the Asian market in respect of the Norwich V Derby match which took place on the 4th October this year at Carrow Road. The Norwich home game resulted in a win for Derby 2-1 which although on the day resulted in huge amounts of elation for Derby, went on to cause much chagrin shortly afterwards when the match fixing allegations were made.

The allegations of match fixing caused the furore when two Members of Parliament, Ian Gibson - MP Norwich North and Norman Lamb – Norfolk North MP tabled questions to Andy Burnham the Culture Secretary in relation to the unusual online betting patterns, and demanded to know if the FA were in fact investigating the match.

At the time Adam Pearson the Derby Chairman commented "It's just one of those things, large bets go on in the Far East all the time and that's their culture, it's not something you come across in UK football, certainly not at this club.”

“An investigation holds no qualms or fears for us whatsoever. There is nothing to hide from this end, it's just unfortunate that two people are trying to make mileage out of it for their own ends."

A full investigation has now been carried in respect of the unusual online betting allegations and the following press release can now hopefully, put this whole sorry allegation to bed once and for all.

FA Statement - Friday, 05 December 2008

The FA can confirm that it has closed its enquiry into reports of unusual betting patterns around the match between Norwich City and Derby County on 4 October. Based on the information gathered as a result of detailed enquiries, there is no evidence to suggest any irregularities around the progress or result of the game. The FA received assistance from the Gambling Commission and individual UK bookmakers, who confirmed that no suspicious activity took place on their markets around the match at Carrow Road. We also received full cooperation from both clubs, both of whom reported that they had no concerns about the match.