Northern Ireland and Kilmarnock striker Kyle Lafferty has opened up on his personal struggles with gambling addiction, and called for a complete sporting ban on betting companies.
ambling firms have been a fixture in UK football for years, not just facilitating betting on games, but also sponsoring teams.
Enniskillen-born Lafferty (34), who has won 89 caps for Northern Ireland and played for a host of clubs across the UK and further afield – has courted controversy throughout his career, with suspensions and training ground bans, however off the field he had other demons to face.
In 2016, while playing for Norwich, Lafferty received a £23,000 fine from the Football Association (FA) for gambling on matches.
Speaking to the Pint and Two Shots podcast, the striker revealed that he left Gambling Anonymous meetings only to place bets straight after.
“I went to my GA [Gamblers Anonymous] meetings and they helped massively. You meet normal people who aren’t going to judge you,” he said.
Lafferty said he previously didn’t get help with his addiction for fear it would end up in the press and people would look at him in a “different way”, something which he would find embarrassing.
“But I ended up getting fined heavily from the FA in England. It was three months before the Euros and I was like ‘I’ve absolutely messed this up for myself’,” he said.
“In my meeting with the FA I was so honest. I was like ‘listen, what I did I’m not blaming anyone, it was my fault I was well aware of what I was doing’. I was honest with them and I think that helped me, they gave me Tony Adams in Sporting Chance’s number and I started seeing him but I wasn’t ready.
“I drove from Norwich to London every Wednesday when I was off but I seen myself going to the bookies around the corner when I left the meeting. I didn’t bet on football after that, I was just treading water to try win my water back.
“When I first came out it was a massive weight off my shoulders. I’d love to come up with something that stops betting companies having any say in football. For anyone, but especially footballers because they are in the limelight, there’s always help. The backing and support you get will be mind-blowing for yourself.
“If anyone ever wanted to come speak to me, even if I played against them or anything I’ll always help anyone no matter who you are or where you’re from.”
In order to tackle problem gambling, Lafferty called for a complete ban all sports for gambling companies.