Cowdenbeath suspend Dean Brett for '˜betting against his own team'

Cowdenbeath have suspended Dean Brett after the player was alleged to have placed bets on 6369 football matches - including eight against his own team.

Dean Brett, left, has been accused of betting on over 6000 football games. Picture: David Lamb

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The player was recently the subject of a complaint to the SFA after posting comments on social media which indicated he was betting on matches.

Footballers in Scotland are strictly forbidden against betting on games of any sort, with former Rangers players Ian Black and Joey Barton two high-profile examples of players who’ve been punished for flaunting the rules.

Brett will likely receive a harsher punishment if found guilty by Scotland’s governing body, as it is alleged he placed bets against his own side to lose on eight occasions, including five games where the 24-year-old was playing.

Cowdenbeath released a statement saying Brett had been suspended on full pay pending an investigation.

It read: “Recently Dean Brett was the subject of a complaint to the SFA regarding comments made on his Twitter account. Following a hearing a suspension is now to be imposed on him.

“On investigating that complaint it became obvious to the SFA from his Twitter comments that Dean was also betting on football matches which as a professional footballer in Scotland is not permitted at all. The SFA then advised they would likely take further action once they had sourced a report from the Gambling Commission.

“Subsequently the SFA have confirmed that Dean will be subject to another action as he will be charged with betting on football.

“The Gambling Commission report confirms betting activity since season 2011/12. This involves some 2787 bets covering 6369 matches.

“Most concerning of all these figures include 65 bets on matches in which Cowdenbeath FC were involved and crucially that on eight occasions bets were placed on Cowdenbeath to lose a match - five of the bets involved matches in which Dean was playing.

“Once this information was to hand the manager [Liam Fox] and chairman [Donald Findlay] met with Dean last Thursday and Dean was suspended on full pay pending a club disciplinary hearing this week as per the club’s disciplinary code of practice.”