09.12.2013 12:50 h

Football: Blackburn's DJ Campbell held in fixing probe

Blackburn striker DJ Campbell has been arrested as part of a spot-fixing investigation in English football, the Championship club confirmed on Monday.

Campbell, 32, is one of six people detained in an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) after it acted on information passed from the Sun and its Sunday sister title the Sun on Sunday.

In a statement, Blackburn said: "Following reports in today's national media, Blackburn Rovers can confirm that striker DJ Campbell has been arrested.

"The club will be making no further comment on what is now an ongoing legal matter."

The Sun on Sunday reported that an undercover investigator met former Portsmouth player Sam Sodje, who allegedly said he could arrange for footballers in the Championship -- England's second tier -- to get themselves a yellow card in return for payments of tens of thousands of pounds.

The 34-year-old former Nigerian international claimed he could rig Premier League games and even said he was preparing to fix matches at next year's World Cup in Brazil, the tabloid reported.

The paper also alleged that Oldham player Cristian Montano failed to get a yellow card in return for money in a League One match against Wolves on October 22 and offered to take part in another rigging incident.

Gamblers can make huge sums by betting on incidents such as yellow or red cards, penalties, the times of goals and corner kicks.

The Sun reported on Monday that Campbell was arrested on Sunday, a day after he came on as a substitute against QPR in his team's game.

The newspaper claimed that detectives were likely to review a yellow card he received for a tackle committed in the first half of Blackburn's league game against Ipswich last Tuesday.

London-born Campbell began his professional career at Brentford and played in the Premier League for three clubs -- Birmingham, Blackpool and QPR.

He signed for Blackburn in July after previously joining the club on loan from QPR last February.

The six men were being questioned by detectives on Monday.

One of the suspects was reported to be Sodje's brother Akpo, 33, who plays for Tranmere.

The League One club said: "Tranmere Rovers Football Club are aware of Sunday newspaper allegations regarding Akpo Sodje.

"As this is an ongoing investigation, the club will make no further comment at this time."

Detectives are carrying out a separate investigation into an alleged international illegal betting syndicate.

Michael Boateng and Hakeem Adelakun, both 22, were charged last week with conspiracy to defraud.

The pair, who were dismissed by their non-league club Whitehawk FC in Brighton following their arrest, will appear in court on Wednesday.

They were the third and fourth persons to have been charged in connection with the claims of an international betting syndicate.

Chann Sankaran, a 33-year-old Singapore national, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, a 43-year-old British passport holder, have appeared in court and been remanded in custody until December 13.

They have been accused of conspiring to defraud bookmakers by influencing the course of football matches and placing bets in November this year.