Wellington Phoenix legend Paul Ifill risked a life ban from football by betting on himself
The retired professional footballer made the startling admission during an interview with James Marshall on the What a Lad podcast, where he detailed his struggles with a gambling addiction for the first time in a public forum.
“I was betting on myself to score first in games, which is definitely highly illegal,” Ifill confessed.
Football Australia’s current sports betting and match manipulation guidelines state that betting is strictly prohibited: “You must never bet on any match you or your team is involved in as it would trigger a conflict of interest that seriously compromises the integrity of football.
“If you bet on yourself or your opponent you risk having your image and reputation tarnished, being banned from all football related activities (possibly for life) and potentially becoming the subject of a criminal investigation and/or prosecution.”
Ifill was a fan favourite during his stint at the Phoenix between 2009 and 2014, and he is still widely regarded as their greatest-ever player.
Ifill won the Chatham Cup as coach of Christchurch United this year, after an Achilles injury forced him into retirement in 2015.
The former Premier League player has also become a public speaker, and he shared his story on the What a Lad podcast as a “cautionary tale” for other athletes.
Ifill said he lost more than $4 million due to his gambling addiction, and he would even bet on flies and raindrops.
Ifill revealed that when he was at Sheffield United and Crystal Palace between 2005 and 2009, he was dropping as much as $20,000 a day on bets.
After many failed attempts to stop, Ifill turned a leaf six years ago and has not had a punt since.
“I tried to work it out when I started doing the gambling talks with the rugby, and I reckon I lost about £2 million [$4.1 million],” Ifill told the What a Lad podcast.
“We’d have £500 each, you’d pick a fly and which fly made it around all four walls, you’d pay the other one the money.
“Now it sounds ridiculous, but at the time that’s just what we did. We’d bet on anything.”
The Phoenix were surprised by Ifill’s admission that he would bet on himself to score first in matches.
General manager David Dome said it has been made clear to all players that betting is strictly prohibited, and they are regularly educated on the subject by the Professional Footballers’ Association every season.
He did not know about Ifill’s gambling addiction but wished the club could have done more to help him.
“The general rule across all the clubs is that you cannot bet on any football anywhere in the world, as management, places, support staff or anyone employed by Wellington Phoenix, and it’s made very clear to them that it’s prohibited,” Dome said.
“It is sad that he went through it and the club were not aware and we could not apply our resources.”
“The PFA and the league have a significant anti-gambling, anti-corruption policy that they run through the men’s and women’s programmes.
“They can actually find football players now using technology. so I’m pretty confident it wouldn’t happen now but I’m very surprised that Ifill did participate [in gambling] to such a large extent during his time with us and we weren’t aware of it.”
Ifill and Football Australia were both approached for comment.
