Football punters should be limited on what they can bet on to clamp down on cheating and match-fixing, a former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has said.

The Bradfdord South Labour MP said the football authorities and the betting industry need to discuss what is an “appropriate bet”, adding that he believes gambling on the number of yellow cards, red cards or corners in a game does not fall into that category.

He made the call in the Commons yesterday after six people were arrested and bailed as part of an investigation into spot-fixing in football, including Blackburn striker DJ Campbell.

Mr Sutcliffe told Sports Minister Helen Grant: “I think there needs to be a discussion around what’s an appropriate bet.”

Ms Grant replied: “There was actually a meeting that was highlighted all over the papers just a couple of days ago whereby we did meet the main governing bodies and the Gambling Commission to discuss the very issue you talk about – spot-fixing.”