FA hoping to ban bets on yellow cards during matches

The Football Association (FA) wants gambling companies to stop allowing bets on yellow cards during matches.

The governing body of the sport in England has growing concerns of players manipulating incidents to receive extra money. These decisions could end up creating match-fixing problems in the Premier League and lower divisions.

Mail Sport is claiming that the FA has already discussed the move with betting companies and government officials. Premier League execs will likely fully back any decision to ban such bets. Along with potentially banning bets on bookings, the organization is also looking to prohibit other in-game calls as well.

News comes as Hammers star is under investigation

The possible crackdown essentially comes down to multiple investigations regarding yellow card incidents in recent years. In fact, there has been at least four inquiries into players receiving bookings in the last five seasons.

West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta is the latest player under investigation about possible wrongdoing. The FA is currently investigating three specific incidents involving the Brazilian star receiving a yellow card.

Two of these bookings occurred in the latter stages of the 2022/23 season. The final incident actually happened in West Ham’s opening match of the current campaign.

Other refereeing decision also under consideration

Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka and Oxford defender Ciaran Brown were also previously investigated for similar incidents. No charges ever stuck.

Former Reading defender Kynan Isac was handed an incredible 12-year ban for being booked on purpose during an FA Cup match.

Along with looking to ban bets on bookings, the FA may also consider a similar move with other refereeing decisions as well.

The aforementioned news outlet claims that the total number of corners and penalties awarded by referees could also be nixed by betting companies. Select gambling sites have already removed the ability to bet on bookings.

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