ANTRIM GAA county board members are set to meet to discuss a report suggesting their own players bet on the hurling team to lose against London earlier this month.
London beat Antrim 1-21 to 1-19 in the National Hurling League encounter in Ruislip on March 20, a match that appeared to be cleanly and competitively contested, despite the Saffrons having little to play for.
London were still chasing a spot in the Division 2A final and got the win they required, though Carlow’s win over Westmeath elsewhere saw them miss out on a top-two finish.
According to the Irish News, “rumours of a match fixing scandal have been rife” ever since the game, though a newspaper report first surfaced in Tuesday’s edition of the County Antrim Post.
Match fixing claims rock GAA in Antrim. See tomorrow's Post for the full story. pic.twitter.com/7wR6OZNaYs
— County Antrim Post (@AntrimPost) March 28, 2016
Antrim GAA chairman Collie Donnelly claims there is “nothing substantive” to back up the report but, nonetheless, they intend to sit down with the panel in order to discuss the matter.
He told the Irish News: "We will be meeting with senior hurling management team and we will be dealing with it to bring some closure to it and move forward."
London GAA have confirmed they have not been contacted by their Antrim counterparts over the issue, while a spokesperson for leading Irish bookmakers Paddy Power told The Irish Post they have seen “nothing untoward” surrounding their bets received on the game.
“Had we seen anything suspicious we’d have reported it to ESSA (European Sports Security Association) but there has been no reason to do so.”
See More: Antrim, Featured, Hurling, London, London GAA
