Tony Kay

Tony Kay (b. 13 May, 1937) is a former English footballer who became notorious after being banned from the professional game for life following the British betting scandal of 1964.

Born in Sheffield, Kay played for Sheffield Wednesday before becoming Britain's most expensive footballer when transferred to Everton for £60,000 in 1962. Kay was capped once for England.

In 1964, the "Sunday People" broke the story that Kay, along with fellow Sheffield Wednesday players David Layne and Peter Swan, through the instigation of Jimmy Gauld, had bet on their side to lose. The three were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, Kay on the basis of a taped conversation, one of the first times such evidence was admitted in an English court. He was fined £150 and sentenced to four months imprisonment. On his release, after serving ten weeks, he was banned from football for life by the Football Association though the ban was rescinded seven years later. Kay claims subsequently to have been summoned to London to explain the use of taped evidence to the Kray twins.

Kay spent 12 years in Spain avoiding arrest for selling a counterfeit diamond but, on his return to the UK, was only fined £400. He has since worked as a groundsman and, as of 2006, lives on Merseyside.

He is portrayed by Jason Isaacs in the 1997 TV film The Fix, directed by Paul Greengrass, which tells the story of the scandal which ended his career.

External links

* [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1250123,00.html Triumph and despair] , Kay's own account of the match fixing incident, "The Observer", July 4, 2004
* [http://www.adrianbullock.com/swfc/stats/play0310.htm Sheffield Wednesday playing record]

Bibliography

* " [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-2280261,00.html Swan still reduced to tears by the fix that came unstuck] ", "The Times" July 22, 2006, p.102, Broadbent, R.