The footballer, Leigh Griffiths, was questioned by police as part of a sports betting investigation. The former Celtic and Scotland player was one of three men arrested during the operation.
Griffiths, 32, confirmed that police came to his home in South Lanarkshire last Thursday, December 1st, before taking him to the police station. Confirming that he was not arrested, Griffiths denied any wrongdoing and declined to discuss the subject of the interrogation.
Police issued a statement on the situation: “Following a pre-planned police operation on Thursday 1st December, three men aged 37, 35 and 32 were arrested in the areas of Bothwell, Bonnyrigg and Airdrie in connection with an investigation. concerning alleged incidents of gambling in sport”.
“All three men have been released without charge pending further investigation,” reads the official statement.
Griffiths spent eight years at Celtic from 2014 to 2022, winning seven Scottish football league titles and three Scottish Cups during that time. He also made 22 caps for the Scotland national team.
The 32-year-old, however, has been without a club since October, having spent a brief spell playing in Australia. He trained at Scottish club Livingston, for which he made his professional debut in 2006, aged 16.
Brentford player is being invested by betting between 2017 and 2021
Last month, the Football Association (FA) charged Brentford striker Ivan Toney with 232 alleged breaches of the betting rules, with the betting taking place between February 2017 and January 2021.
FA rules state that betting on football is prohibited for all players, managers, coaches, club employees, directors and licensed agents involved in the Premier League. Such persons are prohibited from betting – directly or indirectly – on football matches anywhere in the world.
“Ivan Toney has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of the FA betting rules,” the FA said in a statement. “The Brentford FC striker is alleged to have breached 232 FA rules between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. Ivan Toney has until Thursday 24 November to respond.”
His current club reported: “Brentford FC have been informed that Ivan Toney has been charged with breach of FA Rule E8. The club has been in discussions with Ivan and his legal representatives on this matter and these conversations will continue privately. We will not be making further comments until the matter has been concluded.”
