Andy Gray Column: It's time to put our cards on the table

MILLIONAIRE footballer loses at cards and writes out a cheque for pounds 30,000. Many people would say: "So what? The lad can afford it."

Maybe the boy can afford it - but in this day and age, when football is such big business, the one thing he can't afford is to tarnish the image of the game. And if we are not careful that is exactly what will happen.

Gambling and football have been together for a long, long time and although I don't think there is anything wrong with that, I think the time has come for the people who run football to put their own cards on the table and do something about it.

I'm not saying playing cards for money is an epidemic. Footballers have always played cards on the team coach or in hotels - but what has changed is the amount they play for.

Players I have known have always gambled relative to the amount of money they earned. If Michael Owen wrote out a cheque to Kieron Dyer for pounds 30,000, as has been reported, then he would have known he risked losing that amount and knew he could easily afford it.

The problem comes when the supporter picks up his paper or turns on the television news and sees stories of players gambling huge amounts of money on one hand of cards.

Fans can't get their heads around a player seemingly chucking away amounts of money that the majority of people can only dream about earning in a year.

And that is why, although I don't think big-money gambling is rife in the sport, I think a responsibility lies with football to try to control those card schools that exist.

I was never a big gambler so I didn't get into a situation when I lost more than I could afford - but I did see some players, when I was away with the Scotland team, who did get out of their depth from time to time.

It is at international level where most of the big-money gambling goes on, simply because that is where you get the most talented and best-paid players together in one place.

International players tend to have a lot of spare time on their hands when they are staying in hotels, so they tend to play cards. They can afford big bets and we have all read about the sums involved.

The potential problem comes when a player starts to lose time and time again and the debts mount up.

If that player can accept losing tens of thousands of pounds on a regular basis, then you have to begin to worry about the individual.

I am not for a moment suggesting that that is happening with Michael Owen or any the other current crop of England players, but we all saw what happened to Paul Merson. There is also the possibility of gambling causing divisions in the squad, but that only happens if a player loses more than he can afford.

If it becomes an addiction then you have big problems, so that is why it is sensible to have a look at what is going on and bring in some ground rules - and there's no better place to start than with the FA and England.

I think it would be a good idea to say to the England players that when they are together representing their country they should introduce an acceptable maximum bet if they are playing cards or gambling on TV or video horseracing. If that bet is exceeded then the players would be disciplined.

Another alternative would be to ban card schools and any other form of gambling completely. The trouble is if you do that, do you then stop them playing golf?

There's plenty of betting going on there and it might seem a bit heavy-handed to kick that into touch but maybe that is the price these boys have to pay for being role models.

Whether the FA take any action remains to be seen but when they consider this they should remember the responsibility they have to young players coming into the millionaire bracket.

Wayne Rooney has just signed a contract at Everton which will make him a teenage millionaire. He might fancy joining one of these card schools with some of the senior players he sees as his role models and end up blowing a fortune.

It is the duty of Everton, his family and the FA to make sure that he and other youngsters are guided in the right way and are not tempted into a situation that could end in tears.

I am not saying that is going to happen but because of the nature of the game we have characters with flawed personalities. You get that in all forms of life, but they don't all earn millions of pounds.

Footballers always have and always will have a punt, so let's control it now and set a benchmark before we read the next story of a player being sucked into what is essentially a mugs' game.

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