Source: Daily_Mail
EXCLUSIVE: Premier League star Matthew Etherington admits - I've blown £1.5m on gambling
A Premier League star has confessed to gambling away £1.5million amid fears that highly paid players are betting even greater sums.[LNB]England hopeful Matthew Etherington hid the extent of his ruinous addiction from his family and believes a huge problem could be lurking beneath football's wealthy exterior.[LNB] New hope: Mathew Etherington has enjoyed a new lease of life at Stoke City[LNB] In an exclusive interview with The Mail On Sunday, Stoke City winger Etherington admits his debts reached £800,000, plunging his career and his life into crisis. [LNB]'It got to the point where no matter how much I won or lost, it didn't bother me,' said Etherington. 'I hit rock bottom.'[LNB]READ THE FULL INTERVIEW - MY SECRET SHAME BY MATTHEW ETHERINGTON In a revealing insight into the gambling culture at the heart of English football, Etherington also admitted to losing up to £20,000 in card schools when travelling with West Ham, on top of the staggering sums he squandered on greyhounds and horse racing.[LNB]'Looking back on it, how can you prepare for a game when you are playing cards on the bus with lots of money changing hands?' he said. [LNB]'It was silly but there was a lot of us doing that. It can't begood. Any normal human being, if you are losing a lot of money, you arenot going to be happy and you are going to resent the person taking itoff you. It couldn't have been good for team morale. I wasn't asfocused on my football as I should have been.[LNB]'With an alcoholicor drug addict you can look at them and tell, "You are not well" butwith a gambler you can't tell. Most people didn't have a clue about thesums and the debt I was in.'[LNB] Worrying: Stoke's Matthew Etherington is carried off[LNB]Etherington, whose solicitors challenge part of his £800,000 debts, sought help after being confronted by his family last September and spent a week at the Sporting Chance centre during the international break in October. [LNB]He is now in the form of his life and is being talked about in some quarters as a candidate for England's World Cup squad. [LNB]Peter Kay, chairman of the Sporting Chance organisation, said: 'The sums we are seeing now with big gamblers are increasing. The problem gamblers are uniform through the leagues. [LNB]'But Premier League players have access to greater credit. A player faced with a losing run will take higher risks in an attempt to break even.'[LNB] Manchester City 1 Stoke City 1: Mancini fury as Delap throws City off courseMartin Keown's seven-point plan for Man City to stop the human catapultVieira captains France if Manchester City play him, says DomenechBridge holds fire! Man City man stalls on England future after Terry scandal My magic Johnson is the new Ryan Giggs, claims Man City boss Mancini [LNB] [LNB]
