One of Scotland’s top referees told a court he had absolutely no reason to suspect a player got deliberately booked in a game at the centre of a betting fraud probe.
Kane Hester, 27, who plays for Scottish League 2 side Elgin City, is alleged to have deliberately earned a yellow card in a game he played against Premiership team Hibernian, in a Betfred League Cup game in July 2019.
The Moray club’s leading scorer lashed out at an opponent in an attempt to get himself booked as part of a betting scam with three others, prosecutors allege.
Former Arbroath striker Hester, along with Findlay Soutar, Calvin Parrot and Brodie Stewart Myres – all from Montrose – are alleged to have duped bookmaker Bet365 out of £13,583.
Referee ‘should have shown red’
The trial is under way at Dundee Sheriff Court, where category one elite referee Willie Collum gave evidence.
Mr Collum, 44, had officiated the game between Hibs and Elgin City in July 2019.
He told the court he had later watched back the foul which earned Hester a booking and decided he had not been harsh enough because the tackle actually merited a red card.
The court was shown footage from the game, which had been broadcast live on BT Sport.
Hester tackled his opponent from behind, with Mr Collum admitting he was not in the best position to see the foul at first.
Mr Collum told the court Hester approached him at half-time to apologise for his unsporting conduct.
“I told him to be careful in the second half, as he was on a booking.
“There were other cards given in the game. It was a scrappy match.”
Under cross-examination by Hester’s defence solicitor David Allan, Mr Collum was asked if there was anything in the player’s tackle which made him think he wanted to be “deliberately booked”?
He responded: “Absolutely not.”
Money admission
The court was also shown body-cam footage recorded by detectives as they raided the footballer’s Montrose home on Bridge Street.
Hester was shown being cautioned by DS Brian Benny after he answered to door.
He could be heard saying: “There is no point mucking you about.
“If I take you (to my parents home) I can give you the money.”
Hester is later recorded saying “I was booked in a game.
“My friends gave me money for it.”
A joint minute of agreement showed police found a River Island bag stuffed with £50 notes, totalling £2,400, in the bedroom of his parents’ home.
Bets placed
Gambling Commission investigator Nicholas Oliver gave evidence at the trial, explaining how bookmakers Bet365 had flagged a number of customers’ irregular betting patterns to him.
Mr Oliver was responsible for investigating the bets, allegedly placed by Soutar and Parrot via their online accounts.
Both placed bets, according to betting slips shown to the court, ranging from £10 to £500 on football matches taking place across Europe, involving teams including Manchester United, Paris St Germain, Newcastle United, Liverpool and international games at U19 level.
On July 28 2019, a slip showing a bet for £1,000 was placed on Soutar’s account for Hester to be booked in the game against Hibs.
This gave a return of £5,000 – including the initial £1,000 stake.
Another bet of £750 for Hester to be booked and for there to be more than one card shown in the game was also placed, which returned £3,750.
A third bet was placed, using Soutar’s account, for £1,000 for Hester to be booked.
This was cashed out before the game finished, returning £3,750.
The court heard Soutar had previously bet on players being booked during a match “in-play”.
Parrot’s account also showed large bets being placed for Hester to be booked in the July game, including wagers of £666 and £333, which returned almost £4,500 according to the prosecution.
The charges
The charge alleges the four co-accused duped bookmaker Bet365 out of £13,583.
They deny forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain money by placing bets Hester would “purposely commit a foul during the course of the match” and be booked at Borough Briggs Stadium in Elgin.
The charge states the four men carried out the con between July 20 and August 2 2019 and received £17,333.32 in payments from Bet365.
It also alleges £13,583.32 was obtained as unlawful winnings after five separate bets were placed.
An alternative version of the charge alleges they cheated at gambling by placing five bets on Hester being booked and he was shown a yellow card for a foul, leading to them falsely obtaining £13,583.32 in winnings.
Hester, 27, Soutar, 25, Parrot, 26, and Myres, 28, have all denied the charge and the trial continues.
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