Gala Fairydean Rovers midfielder Keaghan Jacobs denies taking part in betting scam by getting yellow-carded on purpose

The South African-born 35-year-old is accused of attempting to cheat at gambling by deliberately getting himself yellow-carded by referee Willie Collum at his then West Lothian team’s Tony Macaroni Arena, alias Almondvale Stadium, in October 2019.

He’s alleged to have breached the 2005 Gambling Act by having “acted in a manner whereby he would receive a yellow card for the purpose of enabling or assisting others to cheat at gambling”.

Jacobs made his first appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in connection with that allegation yesterday, June 18, and lodged a not-guilty plea.

A trial date has been set for October and sheriff John Cook granted bail to Jacobs, of Edinburgh, on condition that he doesn’t contact his co-accused, former Fairydean defender Conan McDiarmid.

McDiarmid, 40, is accused of placing bets and arranging for others to do likewise on Jacobs being cautioned by Collum during his side’s 2-0 Scottish Premiership win against the Glaswegians.

Court papers claim he placed bets “in the knowledge that it had been arranged that Jacobs would act in a manner whereby he would receive a yellow card during the match”.

McDiarmid, of Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, pleaded not guilty to that charge at a prior court hearing last month and he’ll stand trial alongside Jacobs at the capital’s sheriff court in four months’ time.

Jacob’s caution, for an illegal challenge on visiting winger Jonny Hayes on 94 minutes, was one of six cards shown by Collum over the course of Celtic’s first league defeat of that season, won by second-half goals from Scott Robinson and Lyndon Dykes.

The first was a sending-off for Hoops midfielder Ryan Christie for a 25th-minute foul on Robinson and it was followed by yellows for Robinson on 48, his teammate Ricki Lamie on 88 and Celtic’s Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer on 89 and 94 respectively.

Jacobs was at Livingston from 2007 to 2015 and 2017 to 2022, making 252 competitive appearances and scoring 23 goals, and he’s also played for Falkirk, Arbroath and Johannesburg’s Bidvest Wits in his native South Africa before signing for Fairydean last July, going on to play in 31 of the Galashiels club’s 34 Scottish Lowland Football League fixtures last season, netting four times.

McDiarmid, currently assistant manager at Penicuik Athletic, arrived at Netherdale in Galashiels from Whitehill Welfare in July 2018 and moved on to another Midlothian side, Gorebridge’s Arniston Rangers, a year later.