Football agent Will Salthouse accused of a lack of care after 'cashing in by introducing bookmaker to players'

A top football agent has been severely criticised by a gambling addiction charity for receiving payments from a leading bookmaker — in the form of free bets — after introducing them to his players at race meetings.

Will Salthouse, who has some major Premier League stars among his clients, considers himself one of the biggest deal-makers in the game.

He is said to have the ear of at least two prominent Premier League chairmen and owns an agency, Unique Sports Management, that boasts Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray on its stellar client list. Negotiating their deals can earn millions for agents like Salthouse.

But Salthouse received payments of £6,000 in 2015 and £4,000 in 2016 in free bets after inviting footballers into private boxes he hired at Cheltenham and enabling the bookmaker to introduce themselves to young footballers who might want to gamble.

At the Cheltenham Festival in 2016, a group of professional players in Salthouse’s box were banned by racecourse bosses after being caught urinating into empty pint glasses and tipping the contents over a balcony, an incident that brought shame on English football.

At a time when the worrying link between gambling and football is in the spotlight — only this week Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge was charged by the FA with misconduct for alleged breaches of betting rules — the revelation about the arrangement between the bookmaker and Salthouse has brought severe criticism.

The Sporting Chance Clinic, which was set up to support players with problems such as gambling addictions, described an agent’s willingness to receive financial reward from a bookie who was introduced to his clients as ‘appalling’. They have said it raised concerns about a ‘poor attitude to player care’.

There is also debate over whether Salthouse, who received the payments into his personal gambling account with the bookmaker, and claims they were in exchange for renting the hospitality boxes, should have declared the payments to HMRC.

Salthouse maintained that he was advised by an accountant there was no need and HMRC have declined to comment.

Sporting Chance chief executive Colin Bland said: ‘Firstly, there is no doubt that gambling is an issue among the playing population of football. Good research would show that a professional sportsperson is three times more likely to have a gambling problem than a member of the general population.

‘We do, as an organisation, have an issue with free bets. Free bets encourage people to gamble. It is a way of enticing people. It is a way of enticing what we would consider an already vulnerable population.

‘The dynamic of an agent being involved, it shows a lack of awareness to player care. We find that appalling. Seventy per cent of current players who have come to our service with an addictive disorder present with gambling problems. This is particularly poor behaviour (from the agent).’

When Salthouse reserved the Long Run Box, No 91, for March 10 at the 2015 Cheltenham Festival, his PA requested on his behalf that the bookmaker make a contribution of £6,000 plus VAT. The bookmaker requested an invoice.

Invoices dating back to 2013 had also been sent to the bookmaker, while arrangements appear to have been made for at least one event at Chester races.

The bookmaker Salthouse had the arrangement with is a favourite among high-net-worth individuals, with the average stake reported to be £3,000.

Representatives of the exclusive betting firm requested the names and numbers of all Salthouse’s guests — one year it totalled around 50 — including footballers he represents. The players were given a free bet if they completed an online application form that would enable the bookmaker to set them up with an account.

The bookmaker also requested that Salthouse send a text to his guests informing them that the bookmaker would be in touch.

On the notorious day at Cheltenham in March 2016, footballers in Salthouse’s box — including Samir Carruthers and James Collins, who were playing for MK Dons and Northampton at the time — sparked a major controversy when they were seen urinating into glasses on the balcony of the private box.

Collins was then pictured pouring a glass of liquid over the balcony. The pair were banned from all courses in Britain by the British Horseracing Authority and Cheltenham barred USM from hosting the box they had booked for the following day, Ladies’ Day.

Salthouse indicated through his lawyers that everyone who attended the Cheltenham boxes was aware of the existence of the payments he received.

Responding to the allegations, Salthouse’s solicitors said: ‘Three years ago Will Salthouse hosted a box at the races for experienced players.

‘Those who chose to gamble wagered small sums in what was a social occasion. Others did not bet at all. He has done nothing wrong and would never try to encourage a player who does not bet to gamble. He has never profited from players’ losses.’

The PFA declined to comment.