Yellow card gambling probe against Granit Xhaka in Arsenal v Leeds game in December 2021 hits dead end

A yellow card gambling probe against Granit Xhaka during a Premier League game between Arsenal and Leeds United in December 2021 has hit a dead end, reports the Daily Mail.

The Swiss midfielder, now of Bayer Leverkusen, was booked in the 4-1 win and anti-corruption investigators looked into the incident as a suspicious gambling activity.

The Gunners were 3-0 up at the time Xhaka was booked by referee Andre Marriner for time-wasting in the 86th minute, with video footage of the incident showing him standing over the ball deep in his own half for about 20 seconds, appearing to deliberately delaying taking a free-kick.

The FA investigated for six months and escalated it to a criminal inquiry.

However, the matter has been dropped, without any charges being brought earlier this summer and Xhaka was never accused of wrongdoing.

The biggest bets on the game were made in unregulated cryptocurrency markets, thwarting the efforts of the investigators.

A Crypto operator registered in Curacao lost £400,000 on bets placed on the former Arsenal midfielder to be booked, but the International Betting Integrity Association were unable to take up the case as the company is not part of their registered members.

Footballers have been finding themselves in trouble for betting activities recently, with Brentford striker Ivan Toney currently serving an eight-month ban for 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules for offences that took place between 2017 and 2021.

The FA have also been conducting a secret five-month investigation into suspicious bets on Lucas Paqueta getting booked in three West Ham United games.

Fortunately for Xhaka, he never got to be accused of committing any offences and would not have to worry about anything going forward.

The 30-year-old returned to the Bundesliga after seven seasons with Arsenal and has since been replaced with Declan Rice.