LONDON: Defender Bradley Wood has been banned for six years after twice intentionally getting booked during Lincoln City’s FA Cup run last season.

Wood, 26, was found guilty by a Football Association tribunal of two match-fixing offences after telling friends he would try to get booked in the victories over Ipswich and Burnley.

The FA said seven people, including two close friends, bet on him to be booked.

The potential winnings totalled around £10,000 but not all were paid.

Wood, who now plays for Alfreton Town, contested both charges but admitted 23 other betting offences.

The FA Independent Regulatory Commission judgement said the fact that none of the seven people had previously bet on bookings, plus the size of the bets, made them stand out.

Wood was given a five-year ban for the match-fixing offences and a further year after admitting 22 charges of betting on the outcome of matches and one charge of passing on information.

Fined £3,725 and ordered to pay costs, he was suspended until 8 March, 2024.

Lincoln City, who reached the FA Cup quarter-finals last season after wins over Ipswich and Burnley, said they were informed about the investigation in April 2017.

Wood was suspended for the final two weeks of his contract and released in May.

‘Extensive contact’

The judgement said two of the seven people who placed bets, Matthew Hardwicke and Scott Worrad, are friends of Wood, while others are close to Worrad.

Phone records show Wood was in “extensive contact” with them before each game.

  • He texted Worrad 42 times before the Ipswich match
  • He texted brother-in-law Sidney Dick 52 times on the morning of the Burnley game
  • One of Dicks’ friends, William Sinclair, placed a bet on Wood to get booked

The content of the messages is not known because Hardwicke refused to allow his phone to be inspected, while Worrad insisted his had been wiped and contained no relevant information.

Four of those betting on Wood to be booked – Worrad, Scott Hardy, James Frost and Zoey Taylor – were using their accounts for the first time, while all seven placed bets much larger than at any time before or after.

The FA said the amounts staked were “truly exceptional”, with one betting firm reporting they had never seen a four-figure amount staked on a player to be booked.

Wood said his associates knew the “type of player that he was and recognised an opportunity to place strategic bets”.

The panel said it had “no doubt the betting evidence demonstrates a betting syndicate because the nature, size and timing of the bets can only demonstrate coordinated action”.

It added: “The possibility of the bettors having acquired the necessary information is slight.”

Although both charges come under match-fixing offences, the panel said it did not believe the outcome of either match had been affected by Wood’s behaviour.

Taking this into account, together with the lack of evidence that Wood “personally benefited financially” and the “relative modesty” of the sums, the panel decided on a five-year rather than lifetime ban.

Wood argued he was betting on behalf of his father, who was in hospital, but on a betting account in Wood’s name because his father did not have a bank card.

The FA said Wood would still know he was acting in breach of betting rules even if that was the case.

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