I bet on Naby coming to the Reds – but the bookies won’t pay us a penny
ASOUTHPORT builder and two colleagues were overjoyed when they thought they had won nearly £5,000 when RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita signed for Liverpool FC – only to find out that reluctant bookies won’t pay out.
Andrew Gallagher, from Birkdale, and two other builders, placed three bets totalling £600 on Keita signing for Liverpool before September 1.
The 32-year-old said the three of them were given odds of 8/1 at the time they placed their bets at a Liverpool city centre branch of Paddy Power, and all that was written on the slips was “Keita to sign for Liverpool”.
He was planning to spend some of his winnings on new Liverpool FC kits for his children but the family has been left disappointed because the Guinean won’t be coming to Anfield until next summer.
Andrew said Paddy Power told him it would not pay out the £4,800 winnings because of a technicality as Keita “won’t be playing for Liverpool or in the squad” by the date stated.
He said he planned to spend his money on a new back door for his home and the two LFC kits.
Andrew said: “We are working-class people who like a bet. How can they deny us our winnings?
“The woman in the shop was quite happy to take our money, she never stated any terms and conditions and never said he needs to sign and play.
“It was just Keita to sign for Liverpool.
“I rang Paddy Power and asked, ‘Can Barcelona sign Keita tomorrow?’, they said ‘No’ and I said, ‘Why, because he has signed for Liverpool?’.
“They are still refusing to pay out the money and said that he won’t be playing in the squad before the date.”
The three workers made their bets on August 9 – a £400 bet and two bets totalling £100 each.
Andrew, a dad-of-two, said: “The lad who put the £400 bet on is devastated.
“For all they know, we could be using this money to pay off debt or sort out money troubles. I don’t know how they can take our money off us – at the very least they should give us our stake back.”
Andrew also said that he knew of a lot of people in the area facing similar problems. He told his brother to make the bet, which he did with SkyBet – which he said had also refused to pay out, for similar reasons.
Andrew added: “I have a lot of mates in the same situation. I reckon there are a lot of people in Mer- seyside who have put this bet on, too.”
A Paddy Power spokesman said that the firm could not comment on specific bets, but added: “In relation to this market – ‘Naby Keita To Sign For Liverpool Before 1st Of September 2017 – Transfer Specials’ – Keita has not signed for Liverpool, an agreement has been made for him to sign at the end of the season. Such circumstances are specifically covered in our rules.”
The company pointed to the specific rules, which state: “The player in question must belong and be registered to the club offered before the specified time frame ends. Any pre-contracts or other similar agreements that confirm business will be completed at a date later than specified in the market will not count for resettlement purposes.”
The spokesman added: “The market will be settled on September 2 according to Keita’s registered club at that time.”
SkyBet have also been contacted for comment.