January 12, according to an exclusive report by the famous Daily Mail reporter Matt Hughes
FA investigators will look at Ciarron Brown’s mobile phone and scrutinize the Oxford United defender’s recent calls, text messages and social media messages as they investigate potential match-fixing in Monday’s FA Cup loss to Arsenal
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The FA have the power to question all those involved and demand that they hand over mobile phones and laptops, with Brown’s device believed to be the main focus of their initial investigation.
The Post understands several bookmakers have so far refused to pay out due to doubts about the betting model after unknown gamblers bet on Brown against Arsenal.
Brown’s odds for a yellow card also fell from 8/1 on Monday morning to 7/2 shortly before kick-off, a strong indication that something is wrong.
Oxford United wrote in a statement last night: “Oxford United can confirm that they have been made aware of an allegation of an illegal bet on our FA Cup match against Arsenal on Monday night.
The club will fully cooperate with any investigation and while the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.
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Opinions on the incident appeared to be divided among industry experts yesterday, with some attributing the volume of bets to mispricing, but others suggesting there could be more to it than that.
Considering that Brown spent most of his career as a centre-back until he joined Oxford United from Cardiff last summer and moved to left-back.
Some analysts have pointed out that there is always the possibility of a League One defender getting a yellow card against the Premier League leaders, in which he was called to mark Bukayo Saka.
A well-known bookmaker in the industry told the Post that their losses were not serious and that their losses were due to the high amount of bets on Brown’s cards, and the news quickly spread on social media.
However other companies appear to be more suspicious and are understood to have withheld payments for winning bets until the FA investigation is concluded.
Another explanation is that very few players place bets directly on League One matches, and most bookmakers only offer this service during televised matches.
According to this theory, some of Brown’s friends and/or Oxford fans may have taken advantage of this rare opportunity to dramatically change the market by betting on Brown’s chance to win.
Additionally, Brown evaded penalties twice in the first half before actually being booked.
In the 25th minute of the game, Saka tried to break away from Brown in midfield. Brown obviously deliberately grabbed Saka’s jersey.
In another confrontation, Brown appeared to have elbowed Arsenal’s Japanese defender Takeyo Fuyasu in an aerial scrimmage.