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Blackburn confirms arrest of its player on fixing charges

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Press Trust of India London
Indian-owned club Blackburn Rovers striker D J Campbell has been arrested as part of a football spot-fixing investigation, the club has confirmed.

The 32-year-old is one of six persons detained in an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) after it acted on information passed to it by the 'Sun on Sunday' newspaper.

In a statement, Blackburn said, "Following reports in today's national media, Blackburn Rovers can confirm that striker DJ Campbell has been arrested.

"The club will be making no further comment on what is now an ongoing legal matter," said the Championship club owned by Pune-based Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group.
 

The tabloid reported that an undercover investigator met former Portsmouth player Sam Sodje, who allegedly said he could arrange for footballers in the Championship (second tier) to get themselves a yellow card in return for tens of thousands of pounds.

The 34-year-old claimed he could rig Premier League games and even said he was preparing to fix matches at next year's World Cup in Brazil, the newspaper reported.

It also alleged that Oldham player Cristian Montano failed to get a yellow card in return for money in a match against Wolves on October 22 and offered to take part in another rigging incident.

In today's edition of 'The Sun', it was reported that Campbell was arrested on Sunday, a day after he came on as a substitute against Queens Park Rangers in Rovers' Championship game.

The newspaper claimed that detectives were likely to review a yellow card he received for a tackle committed in the first half of Blackburn's league game against Ipswich last Tuesday.

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First Published: Dec 09 2013 | 11:39 PM IST

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