AN EX-NEWCASTLE United player has told how he used to spend his month’s wages in days – and ended up living on just £5 a week.
Centre-back Karl Colley has opened up about his gambling problems during his professional football career.
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After signing with Sheffield Wednesday at just 17-years-old 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 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.
