Chairman Jed McCrory slams FA for "hanging out to dry" Kynan Isaac after he was handed TEN-year ban after being found guilty of spot-fixing during Stratford Town's FA Cup game against Shrewsbury Town
FURIOUS Stratford Town chairman Jed McCrory has hit out at the FA’s decision to hand one of his players a “devastating” ten-year ban from football for spot-fixing during an FA Cup game last year, declaring: “I strongly believe it was done because he’s a working-class player and isn’t a famous name.”
It was revealed this week that Kynan Isaac had been found guilty of the charge after the governing body was alerted to suspicious betting activity on the first-round tie against Shrewsbury Town which took place on 7th November.
The 29-year-old, formerly of Championship sides Reading and Luton Town, was charged after he was alleged to have been booked deliberately in the 83rd minute, as part of a conspiracy with friends.
He pleaded not guilty by email on 19th August, but a report said since that date he had “not engaged with the FA”.
Following an investigation by an independent disciplinary commission chaired by Graeme McPherson KC, Isaac was found guilty of spot-fixing by deliberately earning a yellow card. For this, he was banned from all football activity for ten years from 11th October.
Isaac was also found guilty of failing to provide “telephone billing records, and/or details of his internet service” during an interview in March, leading to a 12-month ban from all football that would run concurrently with charge one.
He also breached FA rules by placing bets on almost 350 matches over a five-year period. For this, he was handed an 18-month ban from all football activity that commences at the conclusion of the ten-year suspension, as well as a £3,000 fine.
He was also ordered to pay the regulatory commission’s costs.
Speaking exclusively to the Herald about the ban, Bards chairman Mr McCrory, who did not condone what Isaac was charged with and agreed with the FA’s policy on betting on football, claimed the governing body had made the left-back “look like Al Capone”.
“I have known Kynan for around 15 years. He’s a good friend, honourable and an honest man who just loves his football,” he said.
“He’s been through the highs and lows of the game having been taken on by professional clubs Reading and Luton Town to then get released.
“I understand that the mental health issues and anxiety this caused had an impact on him. I do not condone what Kynan has been charged with and agree with the FA’s policy of not betting on games, but Kynan did not bet on himself to get booked.
“It is my understanding that three friends of his put a bet on him to get booked. I do not believe that’s Kynan’s fault and the betting company should not have offered such long odds on Kynan, who is usually our most booked player, to get yellow-carded.
“I’m not a gambling man but when you look at Kynan’s disciplinary record, a professional gambler would fancy their chances at those odds. To give Kynan a ten-year ban on the back of 14 people out of the whole country betting on him to get a yellow card makes him look like Al Capone.
“The FA could not even find any evidence that Kynan had gained financially from or had a bet on that Shrewsbury game.”
Mr McCrory added that Isaac was “devastated” by the news and claimed the FA had issued the ban to “hang him out to dry”.
“A Premier League player provided his family with inside information on where he was going to play next and he only got banned for four months, yet Kynan has been made an example of. It’s staggering that the FA has done this, as it will not only hurt his football career, but his working life too.
“Kynan’s got a family and a child to look after, he’s devastated by the news. We’re in a society that is now focussed on mental health and wellbeing yet the FA offered Kynan no form of rehabilitation.
“The lack of support is shocking. I strongly believe the decision has been done because Kynan is a working-class player and isn’t a famous name.”
The independent disciplinary commission was shown evidence that Isaac had “openly discussed getting carded [in the match] with the intention of making money off the bets” in a WhatsApp group.
A screenshot of the conversation showed Isaac saying in response to someone in the group asking ‘odds on you getting booked’: “Just lemme know what you need... Cause we’re gonna get slapped.... So might as well pay the bills off it.”
Two days after Stratford Town’s 5-1 defeat, the FA was contacted by the Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit and informed that a betting alert had been raised with the International Betting Integrity Association by Skybet concerning bets placed on Isaac to be carded during the match. On 11th November 2021, Skybet notified the FA directly of its concerns.
Data provided by Skybet showed 19 bets were placed on Stratford Town to be carded during the match, with a total stake of £2,016.50. Of those 19 bets, 14 were on Isaac and the total stake was £1,516.50. Of that sum, £1,462.50 was bet in a 53-minute window between 19.04pm and 19.57pm on 6th November, the evening before the match. £1,350 of that was bet by three anonymous individuals.
The FA stated that in isolation the exchange can be seen as “banter between friends” but the events preceding the FA Cup match made that “far less plausible”.
During interview, Isaac suggested that it was only in the hours before the match that he knew whether or not he would be playing. While the FA accepted that view, the authority said Isaac’s claim was “untrue and intended to mislead”. Others gave evidence that, provided he was fit, Isaac was bound to play.
Isaac denied acting in a way that would benefit third parties betting on him getting a yellow card and suggested to the FA some “innocent explanations”. He claimed to be a player who “plays on the edge” and “doesn’t mind getting a bit nasty”. Isaac had received a blow to the face in the 67th minute of the match and said that one, the challenge increased his aggression when tackling, and two, that it had compromised his vision.
Alongside the suspicious betting on the FA Cup game, data provided to the commission showed that of 347 bets placed through Isaac’s own betting accounts between 14th August 2016 and 6th November 2021, 50 were on games in competitions in which his club/clubs were participating in during the relevant season.
Of those 50 bets, ten involved his own club. Out of those ten, six bets were against Isaac’s club.
As a non-league player, Isaac claimed he was unaware he was prohibited from betting on football. “I did it, but at the time I did it I did not know that it was forbidden,” he admitted.
Mr McCrory went on to say: “Kynan accepts he put bets on teams in South America, they were just £3-£5 accumulators, and for him to be banned for ten years for putting bets on River Plate shows how out of touch the FA is with the working-class game.
“I will stand behind Kynan and help him with any appeal should he proceed with one.”
The FA was contacted for further comment.