PUNTERS took high street bookies for hundreds of thousands of pounds yesterday and an estimated £3m was gambled on internet betting exchanges as Forfar Athletic’s injury crisis led to the biggest football betting sting in years.

The Scottish Second Division side were without nine first-team players yesterday and asked the Scottish Football League to postpone their game away to Peterhead. That request was denied and Forfar — with 37-year-old manager George Shaw, who hasn’t played a competitive game in three years, listed as an emergency trialist — lost 8-0.

Alert punters piled on to Peterhead at odds of even money when Forfar lodged their request. The betting industry was far slower to react and by the time the odds were cut to 8/15 the coup was complete.

“We had to reprint the football coupon for the first time in years because of the money we took on Peterhead,” said Ladbrokes spokesperson David Williams last night. “The money started to come through and we did our homework, found out that Forfar were down to the bare bones and cut the price. But by tea-time on Friday we had taken £5,000 on a Peterhead win, £2 on the draw and nothing at all on a Forfar win. We lost around £25,000 on that game and across the industry that will be well into six figures.

“We were watching the television with pained grimaces as news of each goal came in. It’s a good old fashioned gamble, and fair play to the punters who reacted quicker than we did. We got our trousers pulled down.”

A huge worldwide gamble took place on the betting exchanges, where individuals make bets with each other. One Canada-based Scottish gambler placed £10,000 on a Peterhead win at 8/15 and won more than £5,000. Over £200,000 was gambled on the Forfar game on Betfair, the leading exchange, far more than on any of the Premierleague matches this weekend. The total amount staked on the game worldwide may have neared the £3m mark.

Last weekend Forfar claimed they could only field three useable substitutes for a 3-1 defeat by Morton. Two further players were injured during that game, leaving Shaw with nine players from a squad of 19 who had no chance of playing at Balmoor yesterday. The teams began the day separated by just three points near the bottom of the Second Division, but Peterhead were ahead from the eighth minute when Bobby Linn scored a penalty. Graeme Sharp, Stuart McKay, Keith Gibson and another from Linn gave Forfar a 5-0 half-time lead.

After the break, McKay and Gibson scored again either side of a Craig Tully strike. To add insult to their many injuries, Forfar ended the match with nine men after Alan Rattray and Darren Gribben were sent off. Suspension will now further deplete a team that slumped to the bottom of the Second Division, a point behind Alloa, with this result. Their next opponents, Stranraer, are sure to be short-priced favourites.

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