Centre-back Karl Colley has opened up about his gambling problems during his professional football career.
After signing with Sheffield Wednesday at just 17, he ended up moving to Newcastle and playing under Peter Beardsley.
However, the move brought on mental health problems and he ended up dropping down to non-league teams.
Now he has opened up about the depression he endured – and the gambling addiction this brought about.
He told the Undr The Cosh podcast: “I was surrounded by gambling growing up. My dad was a gambler, my grandad and uncle were gamblers too.
“My dad used to leave me outside the bookies but you couldn’t see what was going on inside. You could just hear the commentary, I was always intrigued.
“When I’d leave Newcastle’s training ground, the only place I’d feel safe was the bookmakers. I was like a lost kid in a big city.
“When I’m at the bookmakers for hours on end I’m obviously gambling more money and it’s getting worse – but that’s my safe place.”
Things got so bad that Karl began to place a bet every 30 seconds.
He explained: “When I was betting nothing else mattered. That’s when you know you have a problem.
“My month’s wages would be gone in a week, maybe less. Thousands of pounds. I remember living on a fiver at Newcastle some weeks.”
Colley was infamously sacked by Goole when he tried to attack a rival supporter after being sent off in 2014.
He says struggles with gambling continued during his time in Non-League, adding: “I was just playing to pick up money, that’s all I’ve ever known, playing for money. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, I was still gambling, still suffering from depression.
“Nobody was aware of it because I hadn’t opened up yet. People knew I was a gambler but the depression and where my head was at – nobody knew.
“You’d see me on a Saturday and I’d be smiling and laughing with a few quid in my pocket. Nobody saw me struggling the other six days a week, f***ing breaking down and facing my demons.”
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.