Norwegian defender Claus Lundekvam, who once captained Southampton and played nine years of English Premier League ball, said he took part in a sustained betting scam that also allegedly involved other EPL stars.

British bookmakers take bets on in-game happenings such corner kicks, throw-ins and yellow cards. Lundekvam stressed he was never involved in game-fixing, but said the "spotfixing" took place regularly.

"It's not something I'm proud of," said Lundekvam, who retired in 2008. "For a while we did this almost every week. We made a fair bit of money. We could make deals with the opposing captain about, for example, betting on the first throw, the first corner, who started with the ball, a yellow card or a penalty. Those were the sorts of thing we had influence over.

"The results were never on the agenda. That is something I would never have done. We were professional competitors. Even though what we did, of course, was illegal, it was just a fun thing."