BURY boss Alan Knill admits he will be disgusted with the five footballers involved in a betting scandal if they are found guilty of the allegations.

The FA has charged four Accrington Stanley players for staking thousands of pounds on their own team to lose against Bury on the final day of last season.

Andy Mangan, who was registered with Bury at the time but is now playing with Blue Square Premier Side Forest Green, has also been charged with a breach of betting rules. The four Stanley players involved were Jay Harris, David Mannix, Robert Williams and skipper Peter Cavanagh. Together the five players bet more than £10,000 on the outcome of the match, which Bury won 2-0.

An 11-month investigation was launched by the FA, and Knill said: “I hope, for the players’ sakes, it’s not true, and they do have until a certain date to answer their allegations.

“On the flip side, if it is true, they deserve whatever sanctions come their way.

“The sums of money are quite vast, and I was surprised. We would hate to be involved in a game where we haven’t won it fairly.

“We want an even playing field, and I have to say that at the time I didn’t think there was anything happening within the game that was strange.

“I thought the goals we scored were fair enough – especially the second one. I thought we won it fairly.”

Betting was suspended on the eve of the match after bookmakers noticed unusual betting patterns, with the referee even being changed at the last minute, and Knill is sad that Bury could be tainted by Mangan’s alleged involvement. “It’s unfortunate that one of the five is associated with us,” he said.

“We have been transparent from day one and said exactly what we thought and what we knew.

“We were interviewed after the game and then they came in to see us about three months ago and they interviewed myself and two directors.”

The FA have not brought match-fixing charges but the players could face lengthy suspensions and perhaps even life bans. if they are found guilty.