A former Gillingham FC player has been jailed for match-fixing.

Ex-striker Delroy Facey, was jailed for two and a half years this afternoon at Birmingham Crown Court after being convicted of conspiring to bribe lower league players in a match-fixing plot.

The 34-year-old premier League player was said to be the middleman in this conspiracy, sourcing players who would be willing to fix matches.

Andy Young, prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) organised crime division, said: "When he played professional football, he earned good money, being paid over £65,000 in 2010/11. But by the time of his arrest, he was no longer playing professionally and was earning considerably less.

"The jury heard how recordings made by an undercover officer from the National Crime Agency captured Michael Boateng conspiring to give away a penalty to Moses Swaibu, a conversation facilitated by Facey on behalf of the professional fixer Krishna Ganeshan. Swaibu also advises Facey on how to approach fixing, including bribing referees, and on one occasion suggests that a match could be lost by two or three goals.

"These and other recordings provided vital evidence which showed the men had a settled intent to make an agreement about engineering the results of matches, in return for money, a reality."

Moses Swaibu was convicted alongside Facey for fixing matches in the Conference Premier Division.

Facey played for Gillingham in 2007/08, making 35 appearances and scoring three goals.

Earlier this month the court heard Facey used WhatsApp to contact other players about throwing matches.

It was said in court he picked on struggling non-league players, including Hyde FC player Scott Spencer, and offered him £2,000.

The idea was to influence the result of matches so others could profit through betting on the result, and the players would then see a share of the winnings.

The charges relate to an ongoing football match fixing investigation which secured the conviction of businessmen Chann Sankaran and Krishna Ganeshan along with former footballer Michael Boateng last year.

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