A group of footballers suspected of being involved in match-fixing "are playing at English clubs" with the knowledge of the FA, according to Nick Harris of the London DAILY MAIL. Top officials from the FA "admitted for the first time they have a ‘watch list’ of active players ‘of interest’ who, for various reasons, they cannot prevent playing." More than a dozen alleged fixers "could be playing in England, according to law enforcement and football integrity sources." The FA "will not put a figure on the number." The players involved "are at clubs in the lower reaches of the Football League and in non-League football, yet their CVs show that their former employers range from leading London Premier League clubs to smaller sides across the south." None of those on the watch list can be named for legal reasons; "not one has been charged or convicted with any fixing offence, hence the FA’s inability to stop them playing." Asked to confirm the existence of the watch list, FA Head of Football Integrity David Newton said, "It’s safe to say we have procedures in place to manage those sorts of issues. We also have the ability within our rules, but only under certain circumstances, to interim suspend players where we believe a sufficient case can be made that they have been in breach of the integrity rules" (DAILY MAIL, 9/6).
