The alleged bribery offence happened on the opening day of this season’s League of Ireland in February.
The player who was allegedly offered the bribe has been previously commended on how quickly he notified senior personnel at his club about what happened.
This in turn led to a complaint being made to gardaí in Co Donegal who alerted the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) about the incident.
Detectives then searched a property connected with the suspect in Dublin and seized phones and other devices late last February.
They have also been studying good quality CCTV which apparently showed the bribery incident and led to officers being able to confirm a car and clothing observed at the property matched similar items seen on the footage.
It is alleged that the suspect had approached the footballer and asked him to sign a jersey for him.
It is understood the alleged bribery question was made during this interaction and sources say that the player threw the jersey back at the bribery suspect before leaving the area.
The suspect is not a footballer but is known to the League of Ireland player.
He is now based in Galway where he was arrested yesterday after analysis of the devices which were seized earlier this year.
He was not previously known to gardaí for involvement in crime and sources have previously described his alleged activities as “very amateurish”.
Gardaí announced details of the arrest this morning.
“As part of an ongoing investigation into the attempted bribery of a professional League of Ireland football player during the current season, detectives from the Anti-Bribery and Corruption Unit of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) arrested a male in his 30s on Tuesday, 1st October 2024,” a spokesman said.
“The individual was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda Station in the Western Region. He has since been released without charge and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
“The Anti-Bribery and Corruption Unit remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of sport in Ireland and continues to work closely with all relevant stakeholders.
“An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to anyone with information regarding match-fixing or sports corruption to report it in confidence via the Bribery and Corruption Confidential Reporting line at 1800 40 60 80, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or at their local Garda Station,” he added.
A senior source previously told the Irish Independent: “If he was offering such a high figure so he could bet on the player to get himself a Red card in the game, it seems that massive money was going to go on this bet to make it profitable.
“This would have surely raised a red flag with the bookmakers even if the bet was done internationally and even if there were other participants making the same bet. It is hard to see how the scam could have made money.
“The footballer acted with real integrity by informing the relevant authorities and has been rightly praised for his actions by both the FAI and the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI)” a senior source pointed out.
The practice of offering a financial incentive to perform a specific action in a game for betting purposes – is known as spot fixing.
