Delroy Facey jailed for match-fix bribes after Telegraph exposes plot

A former Premier League footballer has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being exposed in a Telegraph investigation into match-fixing.

Delroy Facey, 35, who played for Bolton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion and Hull City, became the highest-profile player to be convicted over a plot to target games across the country.

Judge Mary Stacey said Facey’s offences struck “at the very heart of football”, after he was found guilty of conspiracy to bribe players. “You have been a role model, but you have abused that position,” she added.

^{Delroy Facey (second left) arriving at at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday where he was convicted of conspiring to bribe players in a match-fixing plot (PA)}

Moses Swaibu, 25, a former non-league player, was convicted of the same offence following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. He was jailed for 16 months for his part in the conspiracy.

Judge Mary Stacey described their actions as “like a cancer at the heart of football.” Judge Stacey said the men had betrayed the trust of football fans as well as everyone involved in putting on matches.

Both were arrested in the wake of an investigation published by The Telegraph in 2013 that found match fixers from Asia were targeting games across Britain.

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This is the second trial linked to the plot exposed by this newspaper. Last year two businessmen from Singapore, and Michael Boateng, a former professional footballer, were also found guilty of conspiring to fix English football matches.

Facey denied any wrongdoing, claiming he thought two corrupt businessmen offering him up to £15,000 for his part in the plot were “class clowns” whom he decided to “humour”.

But the trial, which began on April 13, heard that he acted as a middleman to urge a footballer at a struggling non-league club to make some “easy money” by fixing the result of a match. He also told a contact that some Football Conference teams would “do” a game in return for payment.

^{Delroy Facey previously played for Bolton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion and Hull City (Getty)}

In one text conversation, conducted on messaging service WhatsApp in late 2013, Facey tried to corrupt Scott Spencer, a Hyde FC player, by offering him £2,000.

He made contact with Spencer, who the court heard was not involved in any form of match-fixing, shortly after discussing Hyde’s poor run of form with a convicted match-fixer.

“You lot (Hyde) get rinsed out, week in, week out,” Facey told Spencer. “You lot should make some money out of this lad, easy money.

“Check this out. Four goals in a game - two in either half - and you guys can get 2k each, win lose or draw.

“You guys can’t win for s--- so you may as well make some peas.”

During the WhatsApp conversation, which was read to jurors by prosecutor Nick Mather, Facey added that a friend who was betting would provide the cash.

^{Former Bolton Wanderers striker Delroy Facey (right) arrives at Birmingham Crown Court for the start of his trial (PA)}

Mr Mather told the jury Facey told a convicted match-fixer in another message: “I have got (Football) Conference teams that will ‘do’ a game but how much?”

Transcripts of messages between Facey and 43-year-old Krishna Ganeshan, one of the two businessmen found guilty of conspiracy at an earlier trial, were also shown to the jury.

In an exchange on October 28, 2013, Ganeshan used Skype to contact Facey, telling him: “Get ready, things are about to come to life. Keep your boys on stand-by. If they deliver first time, me and only you are in big business for the future.”