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2004 Rugby League Betting Scandal2004 saw a scandal in the sport of rugby league involving Great Britain international players Sean Long and Martin Gleeson. Both players were playing for St Helens at the time; the match in question was between Bradford Bulls and St Helens on Easter Monday, April 2004. St Helens, who were involved in the Challenge Cup semi-finals and had been given a demanding draw which saw them forced to play Bradford, Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC in previous rounds, were struggling under the demanding fixture schedule they faced in fitting the games around their Super League commitments. Coach Ian Millward omitted eleven first team players from the clash with defending Super League champions Bradford, effectively "throwing" the game and accepting defeat in order to rest his key players for the Challenge Cup semi final. Knowing that St Helens were set to field a weakened side, Long and Gleeson placed bets on the Bulls to win. Gleeson bet 1000 that Bradford would win by a margin greater than eight points, whilst Long placed a bet of similar value on the Bulls' victory. Bradford won 54-8. Long was one of the players left out of the squad but Gleeson was selected by Millward, and indeed scored the first try. Both players admitted their guilt and apologised for their actions. An RFL investigation chaired by a panel comprising Judge Peter Charlesworth, Deryck Fox and David Poulter accepted that there was no evidence to suggest Gleeson had attempted to play badly to influence the result, but both players were declared guilty of breaching an RFL by law prohibiting players betting on matches in which their club was involved, regardless of whether or not they were involved in the game. They were each fined 7500 and ordered to pay 2205 costs. Long was handed a three month and Gleeson a four month suspension. A few weeks after receiving the suspension, Gleeson signed for Warrington Wolves for a fee reported at 200000. Betting Rugby league betting scandal
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