[Archived] DJ Campbell arrested on match fixing allegations

[Parsonblue]

  On 10/12/2013 at 07:44, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

I wonder if people on here should actual think about their witch hunt - what happened about innocent until proven guilty ? Imagine if it was Rhodes that had been accused - doubt many would be saying he shouldn't play, or even been suspended, never mind his contract cancelled. He would get full backing - innocent until proven guilty etc etc. Don't get me wrong if Campbell is guilty Rovers should sue the pants off him - but until they have conclusive proof surely they should provide him with some support ? The squad has to feel like a family - and they should feel that the club is there for them.

Completely agree. There is something of a witch hunt simply because Campbell is not liked - you only have to look at how folk wish other unpopular players were involved as a means of getting rid of them. Until he is proven guilty in a court of law then Campbell is innocent. He may well be suspended by the club pending an investigation but I expect it to be on full pay. The Oldham lad who was suspended without pay was one of the guys caught on film which is totally different. I assume that Campbell has been mentioned by somebody and that is why he has been questioned. Unless he admits the charge, which seems unlikely as he has not been charged with anything as yet, he remains innocent until proven otherwise. People can be suspended on full pay for years whilst investigations take place, particularly if they are trawling expeditions looking for evidence that will stand up in court.

Obviously if he was found guilty he would be sacked immediately, and rightly so, and face the sanctions of the court but until that point he remains innocent and a Blackburn Rovers player.

[Tom]

  On 10/12/2013 at 07:52, DE. said:

Are you kidding? The anti-Rhodes crew on here would be setting up a campaign to have him put in the town stocks and pelted with fruit.

There is no anti Rhodes crew that I have seen

Anyway I agree with others we can't just sack or suspend without pay. If he was found not guilty we'd have an almighty lawsuit on our hands I imagine

[McClarky]

Agree that he's innocent until proven guilty but we certainly shouldn't be picking him while this is going on. Suspend him on full pay. Good to have him out of the 1st team picture anyway because he's neither use nor ornament.

[RevidgeBlue]

  On 10/12/2013 at 07:22, Ricky said:

It seems like the other clubs involved have suspended players without pay or cancelled their contracts. I don't see why we have to be any different.

Can only think the other players have admitted their involvment Ricky, I agree entirely with Parsonblue and I think the Clubs in question would be on very dodgy legal ground otherwise.

To play devil's advocate for a second, how would you lot feel if you were wrongfully arrested for something you simply hadn't done, then to add insult to injury were told you had to sit at home for four months in the meantime without pay?

Don't get me wrong, I hope Campbell has made a full and frank confession then we can sack him and get his wages off the rosta asap because I think he's crap, innocent or not.

[Mike E]

No witch hunt imo. Just the usual footy fan humour for the most part, re: chants.

And surely just not playing the guy is best for both parties?

[Jimmy612]

  On 10/12/2013 at 08:42, RevidgeBlue said:

Can only think the other players have admitted their involvment Ricky, I agree entirely with Parsonblue and I think the Clubs in question would be on very dodgy legal ground otherwise.

To play devil's advocate for a second, how would you lot feel if you were wrongfully arrested for something you simply hadn't done, then to add insult to injury were told you had to sit at home for four months in the meantime without pay?

Don't get me wrong, I hope Campbell has made a full and frank confession then we can sack him and get his wages off the rosta asap because I think he's crap, innocent or not.

So do I. 20 grand free'd up. Unfortunately I seriously doubt that money would see the loan market. Therefore are we just another striker short? Not ideal if Rhodes got injured.

[EgyptianPete]

  On 10/12/2013 at 08:09, Parsonblue said:

Completely agree. There is something of a witch hunt simply because Campbell is not liked - you only have to look at how folk wish other unpopular players were involved as a means of getting rid of them. Until he is proven guilty in a court of law then Campbell is innocent. He may well be suspended by the club pending an investigation but I expect it to be on full pay. The Oldham lad who was suspended without pay was one of the guys caught on film which is totally different. I assume that Campbell has been mentioned by somebody and that is why he has been questioned. Unless he admits the charge, which seems unlikely as he has not been charged with anything as yet, he remains innocent until proven otherwise. People can be suspended on full pay for years whilst investigations take place, particularly if they are trawling expeditions looking for evidence that will stand up in court.

Obviously if he was found guilty he would be sacked immediately, and rightly so, and face the sanctions of the court but until that point he remains innocent and a Blackburn Rovers player.

So do you REALLY think when police come knocking on your door in an alleged dawn raid, they have nothing on you, come on, he must have been implicated, good grief if it was only on that booking at Ipswich that the police acted, they would have by now arrested half of the league players for iffy bookings. . (Oh and all the Blackpool players) allegedly.

Until the police now actually say DJ Campbell is no longer under suspicion he can not play for Rovers, therefore he is not fulfilling his side of the contract, no play no pay.

[Bucksrover]

With all the news coverage this is getting Rovers need to make a decision on what they do fairly quickly.

The longer it goes on, the more I suspect the club are not able to sack him or suspend him without pay.

We can't play him - because if he plays and it turns out he is guilty then rovers will have played a player suspected of cheating. But if we do have to pay him until April and he turns out to be guilty - I hope we would sue him for every penny we have paid him since he joined the club.

[Athlete]

Most likely he'll be suspended on full pay cos if he isn't and his subsequently found not guilty he would be totally within his rights to sue Rovers for more than his wages unfortunately this is what happens...

[EgyptianPete]

  On 10/12/2013 at 08:56, Bucksrover said:

With all the news coverage this is getting Rovers need to make a decision on what they do fairly quickly.

The longer it goes on, the more I suspect the club are not able to sack him or suspend him without pay.

We can't play him - because if he plays and it turns out he is guilty then rovers will have played a player suspected of cheating. But if we do have to pay him until April and he turns out to be guilty - I hope we would sue him for every penny we have paid him since he joined the club.

Okay guys lets lighten this discussion up a bit, I see on Rovers mad they are asking what chants opposing fans will sing to us.

The best one yet for us to sing being:

He wins when we lose

He wins when we lose

DJ Campbell is shafting the Blues

now i am sure there is more wit on here.

[Proudtobeblue&white]

Whilst DJ is under police investigation, it would be suicide for the club if they didn't suspend him from playing.

The bottom line is we cannot as a club be left open to further potential allegations. It seems that the yellow card at Ipswich is the focus of attention. Whether guilty or not, if the club allowed him to play, there would always be a finger of suspicion hanging over the lad's head.

If cleared, no charges preferred, then green light, but likely always to have a certain stench around him. Nature has to be allowed to take its course on this one.

[RevidgeBlue]

  On 10/12/2013 at 08:48, EgyptianPete said:

So do you REALLY think when police come knocking on your door in an alleged dawn raid, they have nothing on you, come on, he must have been implicated, good grief if it was only on that booking at Ipswich that the police acted, they would have by now arrested half of the league players for iffy bookings. . (Oh and all the Blackpool players) allegedly.

Until the police now actually say DJ Campbell is no longer under suspicion he can not play for Rovers, therefore he is not fulfilling his side of the contract, no play no pay.

Nonsense. There obviously isn't enough evidence to charge any of the people arrested at this point otherwise the Police would have done so.

If Campbell is denying any wrongsoing he'd be quite within his rights to say he's available for selection. Obviously to maintain the Club's integrity it should be our decision to suspend him until he is completely cleared of any suspicion, and arguably that's in the players' best interests as well.

[Leonard Venkhater]

  On 10/12/2013 at 07:44, DavidMailsTightPerm said:

I wonder if people on here should actual think about their witch hunt - what happened about innocent until proven guilty ? Imagine if it was Rhodes that had been accused - doubt many would be saying he shouldn't play, or even been suspended, never mind his contract cancelled. He would get full backing - innocent until proven guilty etc etc. Don't get me wrong if Campbell is guilty Rovers should sue the pants off him - but until they have conclusive proof surely they should provide him with some support ? The squad has to feel like a family - and they should feel that the club is there for them.

Nice one. Henry Fonda's Blue and White Army!

[RevidgeBlue]

  On 10/12/2013 at 09:06, EgyptianPete said:

Okay guys lets lighten this discussion up a bit, I see on Rovers mad they are asking what chants opposing fans will sing to us.

The best one yet for us to sing being:

He wins when we loseHe wins when we loseDJ Campbell is shafting the Blues

now i am sure there is more wit on here.

Very good. Like that one as well.

All this humour highlights the problem Campbell will face now though, they'll always be a whiff of suspicion attaching to him even if the Police investigation comes to nothing.

[J*B]

Punctuation please Savio.

[Tom]

  On 10/12/2013 at 09:39, J*B said:

Punctuation please Savio.

Rubbish chant that

[Bucksrover]

So if we can't stop paying DJ we will have him, Etuhu, Best and Robinson being paid about £114k a week but not currently being considered for the first team for various reasons.

Between these 4 we have a £6 million pound a year wage drain.

[Mike Graham]

  On 10/12/2013 at 07:22, Ricky said:

It seems like the other clubs involved have suspended players without pay or cancelled their contracts. I don't see why we have to be any different.

  On 10/12/2013 at 07:28, Brad said:

Should not be a problem at all, though if found not guilty DJ can make a claim for lost earnings. Normally how it works.

In fact it is NOT normal for someone to be suspended without pay unless their contract specifically allows it which would be very unusual indeed.

If he has not admitted it, or been found guilty, or been in breach of his contract/failed to fulfil his contract then they will have to continue to pay him in full. Nor can Rovers come for back wages if he is subsequently found guilty. You need to separate out employment law from criminal law as both are completely different.

All DJ is guilty of to date is:

1. He is a crap footballer

2. He plays for Rovers

3. He is an oxygen thief.

[Parsonblue]

  On 10/12/2013 at 08:48, EgyptianPete said:

So do you REALLY think when police come knocking on your door in an alleged dawn raid, they have nothing on you, come on, he must have been implicated, good grief if it was only on that booking at Ipswich that the police acted, they would have by now arrested half of the league players for iffy bookings. . (Oh and all the Blackpool players) allegedly.

Until the police now actually say DJ Campbell is no longer under suspicion he can not play for Rovers, therefore he is not fulfilling his side of the contract, no play no pay.

I think you might find the no play no pay line a difficult one to argue in court. He has not been charged as yet and is therefore, technically, free to play for the club. The fact that the club will opt not to play him is the club's decision, and obviously a sensible one, but under those circumstances he is, quite rightly, entitled to be paid until the situation changes. If he admits the charges that is a different matter but there is no suggestion that he has and so is still a Blackburn Rovers player and will have to be paid unless the club offer to pay his contract up in full and give him a free transfer.

[Mike Graham]

  On 10/12/2013 at 10:55, Parsonblue said:

I think you might find the no play no pay line a difficult one to argue in court. He has not been charged as yet and is therefore, technically, free to play for the club. The fact that the club will opt not to play him is the club's decision, and obviously a sensible one, but under those circumstances he is, quite rightly, entitled to be paid until the situation changes. If he admits the charges that is a different matter but there is no suggestion that he has and so is still a Blackburn Rovers player and will have to be paid unless the club offer to pay his contract up in full and give him a free transfer.

100% correct analysis......as is usually the case with PB.

[T.J.Newton]

  On 10/12/2013 at 10:35, Bucksrover said:

So if we can't stop paying DJ we will have him, Etuhu, Best and Robinson being paid about £114k a week but not currently being considered for the first team for various reasons.

Between these 4 we have a £6 million pound a year wage drain.

Makes you think, "theoretically" if a club or manager was in on this betting scam, they could simply instruct a few players to do a few seemingly innocuous things during the game(pick up bookings, fain injury so they have to be subbed, give away a corner, throw in, etc..) and they could potentially take in enough money to cover half the teams wage.

(would it be so out of the question for a financially struggling club to do such a thing, if they believed it's the only way to keep the club afloat and competitive in the league)

[FGS5635]

  On 10/12/2013 at 11:31, T.J.Newton said:

Makes you think, "theoretically" if a club or manager was in on this betting scam, they could simply instruct a few players to do a few seemingly innocuous things during the game(pick up bookings, fain injury so they have to be subbed, give away a corner, throw in, etc..) and they could potentially take in enough money to cover half the teams wage.

(would it be so out of the question for a financially struggling club to do such a thing, if they believed it's the only way to keep the club afloat and competitive in the league)

In theory how would you get them winnings onto the clubs books?

[Bucksrover]

After Preston and Parson Blue's posts I am seeing this revelation as a bad thing for us.

Last week I thought DJ would be a useful player this season - he has more of a physical presence than Rhodes. Now it turns out that in all likelihood he is a crook. Yesterday I was quite chipper at the prospect of him being sacked, but it seems we can't play him, sack him or even stop paying him until this is sorted out.

We are paying Best and DJ 54k a week to play PS4. When did football become so infuriating?!

[Amo]

I don't think Rovers have a leg to stand on legally until DJ is found guilty. You can be sure of one thing, the PFA will be on us like a dose of salts if we try to suspend him without pay.

[Plastics]

And rightly so.