Accies chief Colin McGowan has delivered his plans for an amnesty for those with gambling issues to the Scottish Football Association.
McGowan, hot on the heels of the club’s head coach Brian Rice receiving a 10-game ban for breaching gambling rules in football, outlined his proposals in a document sent to the football governing body late last week.
In the report he states that since the “media frenzy” surrounding his head coach breaching of rules 31 and 31A of the SFA’s rules in relation to gambling, he and Rice have been “contacted by a good number of ex-players and current players who are experiencing compulsive gambling involving football”.
McGowan also points out that whilst there is a punishment structure for anyone found to be breaching the rules, the reality is there are “very few charged in relation to the amount of people that are actually betting on football matches” and he believes that the main reason for this is that it “would appear no footballing body are pro-active in catching offenders”.
The document also calls for a one-off amendment to the rules and lays bare an amnesty proposal.
This includes:
■ That anyone coming forward to self-report gambling on football, and having accounts with bookmakers over a span of time are automatically given the maximum 16-game ban with no financial penalties
■ They also give an undertaking to close any gambling accounts they may have
■ In return the complete 16-game ban is suspended for three years, ultimately creating that which would be determined as an amnesty.
■ It also respectively asks that “in view of their self-reporting, and bearing in mind the ones coming forward have taken the massive first step of acknowledging gambling has become a problem in their lives, their anonymity should be protected”.
McGowan said: “I fully understand the expectation for the need of openness and transparency in the game.
“But some mental illnesses are not visible, and the disease of gambling is one of those mental illnesses.
“FIFA, The SPFL and the SFA should understand openness and transparency was never meant to shine a spotlight on a victim.
“I hope you understand that these proposals and ideas are put forward mainly for the protection of the players and ultimately for the benefit to their families.
“They also without doubt protect the integrity of the game.”
The SFA declined to comment.
