The Scottish Football Association on Monday issued a Notice of Complaint to Rangers midfielder Ian Black, alleging that he bet against his own team. An initial hearing has been set for Sept. 12, and Black has until Aug. 26 to respond.
Scottish soccer’s governing body claims that Black broke its rules:
(2) By betting on a further 10 football matches that involved then-registered club.
(3) By betting on a further 147 football matches.
However, the FA believes it has “no evidence to suggest” that Black acted in a way “which could give rise to an event in which [he] or any third party benefits financially through betting.”
In other words, there are no allegations of match-fixing here. Still, Black could be fined, suspended or banned from soccer.
Across the border in England, betting came to the forefront this week when Accrington Stanley managing director Robert Heys was banned for breaching 735 betting rules over a 10-year period. Tottenham winger Andros Townsend and Stoke City forward Cameron Jerome were also found guilty of betting offenses this summer.
Black transferred to Rangers before last season from Hearts, where he also took up a part-time job as a painter when the club had trouble paying its players in December 2011.
The 28-year-old has one cap for Scotland, earned almost exactly a year ago in a 3-1 win over Australia on Aug. 15, 2012. Earlier that year, he was cleared of charges of cocaine possession after being arrested in May 2011.