FA investigating claims Oxford defender Ciaron Brown was deliberately booked

An investigation into alleged spot-fixing has been opened by the FA

The Football Association have opened an investigation into suspicious betting patterns related to the booking of Oxford defender Ciaron Brown. Brown was shown a yellow card in Oxford's FA Cup defeat against Arsenal on Monday however the Daily Mail have revealed that the FA have received evidence regarding alleged corruption. Some of the evidence includes alleged phone messages before the game at the Kassam Stadium which claim that Brown would be booked as part of a betting scam that reportedly cost one bookmaker more than £1,600. One message is said to show a betting slip with around £200 staked on Brown to be booked at odds of 8-1. The 24-year-old received a yellow card in the 59th minute for a foul on Bukayo Saka while the score was 0-0, four minutes before Mohamed Elneny gave the Gunners the lead. Although there is no certainty on how many bets were placed on the full back being being shown a yellow card. People who were in attendance at the game told the Mail that several Arsenal fans were spotted celebrating, bragging about winning hundreds of pounds as a result of the Northern Ireland defender's booking. Related links:

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