Gary Sprake kept goal for that Leeds team over 500 times – he was a Leeds United legend. But today he is no longer welcome at he club that made him famous. In 1977, three years after leaving the club that made him famous, Gary spoke to the Daily Mirror accusing his old manager, the legendary Don Revie, then the England team manager, of involvement in match fixing.
47 Comments
Just from this report I'd say that Gary Sprake was both a whistleblower AND a traitor. His story was believable, but he also rendered it unusable because he ran to a newspaper with his hands open for a large wedge of cash.
Gary is a hero for exposing Revie.
Match fixing in English Football – you bet… !
Runing off to the middle east says it all.
Why would he lie?
Gary Sprake did the right thing and what his conscience dictated; he can truly rest in peace. Revie fostered cheating and corruption.
Makes me laugh, all these people in denial. GS was a great keeper and a great man for exposing Revie.
So he was either a whistle blower or a traitor…nothing else? No biases here. How about he was a hero and a gentleman trying to right injustices because he cared deeply about English football
All done in desperate attempts to win… the frustration of finishing second so many times.
Gary was my uncle…….to think Leeds wouldn't allow him back at Elland road is disgraceful…….RIP
Refused to admit the same thing under oath though. Nothing but a snake 🐍
I wonder if those howlers he chucked in we’re in fact match fixing moments
Those Micey rub downs Don used to dish out want investigating never mind the match fixing
Leeds have always been a scummy-ass club.
Dirty Leeds, Corrupt!. Even today there sending spies to look at the other team lol. What a fookin team you had, why cheat? Dirty fookjin cheating bastrds. Take the championship trophy from them in the early 70s.
So many made the same allegation
– Gary Sprake
– Jim Barron
– Alan Ball
– Bob Stokoe
– Derek Dougan
– Frank McClintock
– Mike O'Grady
Dodgy Don was at it….
poor sprakey , they aint proper fans in cafe tossers , revie bribed evidence is obvious, none of them would face up to sprake to deny it
Never ever trust a journalist.
Truth can be a lonely warrior.
sprake was a cheating bastard who got paid to throw 1970 final. covering his tracks.
bbc thieves interviewing thieves as usual.
Gary is bullshit!
I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I'M HEARING & WATCHING . I don't know what think now. The first team I ever followed. Why had it taken Gary Sprake to reveal what happened behind the scenes with these stories of match fixing? Other footballers who knew of this whether within the team or their opponents should have come forward. Absolutely gutted !
Gary was an innocent guy ,it’s being brave to expose wrong doing .
To start with I am not a Leeds supporter, Don Revie is an interesting individual as indeed are that Leeds team, personally although not old enough to remember the whole journey as England manager, its fair to say it was a dreadful appointment, Leeds and Revie where pretty much universally disliked and I very much do recall the anger across the game and country when he left for the Middle East, having done that all these types of stories gained new life. Personally I would be shocked if this type of thing wasn't going on at a pretty much industrial scale and its interesting that Alan Ball's name comes up… I was at a Manchester City Liverpool game where "the great man" (then manager of City)instructed the City players to time waste(it was 1-1 at the time)because they where safe….. hadn't been and as a result went down, no one will ever convince me that there weren't strange goings on going on in that game!
Until they met the mighty Gasgow Celtic – The Lisbon Lions! 🍀
Sprake was one of the best reflex goalkeepers in Europe, hence fact he made some incredible saves. But from a safety perspective he was way too erratic
“Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall.”
I don't think it irrefutable but prima facie evidence is pretty overwhelming. Hard on the criticisms placed on Gary Sprake. Back in the 70s if you were a whistleblower in any profession you were a traitor, simple as that. No protection as afforded in today's law …. where would you go back then? I can't speak for Sprake's motives but it makes more sense he was speaking the truth rather that not – considering how well he knew what he would be losing. As for Revie ….. as I said before. This scandal broke, Review left the country indefinitely within days – that speaks volumes and certainly not a coincidence.
Revie covered for him after that car crash, when he ran from the scene. He owed him some loyalty and whilst I don't doubt he's telling the truth, he should have kept his mouth shut.
Those three Leeds supporters were particularly dim and dishonest.
Look this sort of thing happens in football, to this day, sad but true. Gary Sprake should be commended for telling the truth at his own expense but at the same time its psck mentality. He desrrved more than to be treated that way but thats the thing about the truth sometimes it can set you free but half the time it condemns. Depends if trust was broken and in this case it was.
One of the fans shown here claims that before Don Revie, Leeds were not a club. In fact, before Don Revie, Leeds had at least two great managers, three if you count Herbert Chapman from the Leeds City days. Leeds had a history prior to the Revie/Armfield era and after.
Heresy and anecdote , usually anonymous…of the hundreds of wins and fewness of losses throughout their 10yrs of primacy ,which were corroborated, evidenced charges? By the same token,were any refs bribed to find against Leeds in a game? I was at the wolves game, which the football association insisted we play 2 days after our cup final ! We had a penalty claim disallowed..fans were actually sat on the stands! There have been quite a few suspicious refereeing decisions given among the clubs in decisive situations over the years perhaps we should trawl the archives..and vent our personal spite and jealousies..it is possible in a desperate moment ,revie lost his sense of honour ..if so it would be unlikely and unnecessary to have happened again..he was a driven haunted man, who inherited and formed a great team(were any of these supposed to have been bribed or to have bribed?)
Gary Sprake is a traitor to Leeds. He had a grudge against Don Revie because Sprake never got a testimonial and got replaced with David Harvey. If Revie really was a match fixer Leeds wouldn't had been runners up so many times and wouldn't have been cheated out of so many finals. Sprake always refused to repeat these allegations in court but never had a problem with selling them to the press for a big fee.
🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀
Revie would of sold his own mother for a quick buck.
Fans deluded and in denial.
Revie was as bent as a dockers hook.
Peter Lorimer admitted there was dodgy business when they beat Sunderland in a second FA Cup replay at Hull.
Jimmy Greenhoff going down Miles outside the penalty area falling inside and Ken Stokes the referee inexplicably giving a penalty.
Revie was an absolute tosser
It’s not just players and managers it’s also owners, officials as well . I’ve been to many games over the years and you see blundering errors from keepers outrageous calls from officials and you sometimes think to yourself, have they been paid off!
sure revie was no shrinking violet clean jean like clough etc but still you have to seriously suspect a lot of these allegations. Don was like the devil or adolph hitler from 1977/78. you could say anything bad against him and get believed🤣🤣🤣🤣
and sprates very suspect like cost leeds some big games with suspect. he could well have been there bruce grobbelaar ha
So every single one of them would rather back a cheat than a truth teller.
Basically Cheating
SOoooo…what's new?
All thes comments are very interesting but i feel things went on then certainly. But i feel it still happens today. A ridiculous own goal a suicidal back pass. Yes players mske genuine mistakes under pressure but how many times do you see players give the ball away for no apparent reason? It hoes on definitely i think
Hughes stokoe dougan frank mclintock cant all be wrong