Southampton police have contacted the FA regarding the Matt Le Tissier betting scandal.

The former Southampton captain and England international admitted gambling on a Premier League game in which he was playing.

Le Tissier admitted in his autobiography, Taking Le Tiss, that he gambled on the time of the first throw in the Saints' 2-0 win at Wimbledon in April 1995.

In a statement, police told the BBC: 'Police in Southampton have been made aware of a historic spread betting scam allegation at a Southampton football match in the 1990s.

'We have raised this matter with the FA and are discussing it with them.'

A spokesman for the FA confirmed police had been in touch and added: 'We will consider what action to take, if any.'

As Southampton skipper for the Premier League game, Le Tissier persuaded the Wimbledon captain to let the visitors kick-off in exchange for letting the Dons kick towards their own fans, he said in the book.

'It seemed to be going like clockwork,' said Le Tissier. 'We kicked-off, the ball was tapped to me and I went to hit it out towards Neil Shipperley on the left wing.

'As it was live on television, I didn't want to make it too obvious, so I tried to hit it just over his head. But, with so much riding on it, I was a bit nervous and didn't give it enough welly.

'The problem was that Shipps knew nothing about the bet and managed to reach it and even head it back into play.'

Nobody should be surprised that the police have contacted the FA regarding the scandal. Sportd betting scandals, as the NY Times acknowledges, are rather common. "They are the result of persistent economic incentives that can be traced to the structure of sports gambling markets."

The type of gambling in which Le Tissier partook raises several deeper questions. As the NY Times realizes, "a corrupt player or official is rarely asked to throw a game to one team or the other." Instead he is asked to influence something rather immaterial, like the first throw. This is profitable because it can be easily manipulated without public suspicion.

We know that at least one Premier League player participated in this kind of gambling. The scary thought arises because this kind of gambling is so sneaky vis-a-vis fans. It is well thought out, deliberately planned gambling; gambling that can be easily manipulated by players and avoids any public suspicion, a matter that raises the question of whether the Le Tissier incident was not isolated.

Football can be manipulated significantly by the actions of a single player and so is susceptible to gambling related corruption. To the corrupt participants, gambling on throws may feel like a victimless crime. "The same team, after all, still wins. And this ensures minimal scrutiny of their actions."

I hope that the FA fully cooperate with the police in investigating the incident.