It’s been another bad week for the image of football.

The prospect of faceless players deliberately taking a booking – or punching an opponent in the wedding tackle – to pocket a few quid has left every fan uneasy.

That sort of thing only happens elsewhere. Spot-fixing, match-fixing, whatever you want to call it, is not an English disease ...

Well, it seems to be now and you fear that this week’s arrests are just the tip of the iceberg.

The gambling industry has a stranglehold on the game. Teams boast Asian betting company logos on their shirts; Ray Winstone pops up at half-time on the telly urging viewers to bet “in play”.

It’s inevitable that when you can stick a wager on anything from the number of corners to the time of the first booking, the weak-minded and greedy are going to be easily swayed.

We’re told that Premier League players earn far too much to ever be tempted. But what about Matt Le Tissier’s admission in his book that he tried to boot the ball straight out of play because he’d bet on the time of the first throw-in?

The problem is not rife – or so we’re led to believe. But then who’s going to own up to anything unless they feel the long arm of the law on their collar?

Like cricket, it is a slur that the sport must tackle head on. But with such a huge betting market to satisfy, that seems like an impossible job.