English Soccer Star's Life Threatened Over Gambling Debts

Matthew Etherington of the West Ham Spurs admitted having lost almost $1.5 million wagering, and told his club he needed a loan to make a payment or else he feared for his life.

A star soccer player in England has lapsed back into his problem gambling, leading to death threats in response to his unpaid debts. Matthew Etherington of the West Ham Spurs admitted having lost almost $1.5 million wagering, and told his club he needed a loan to make a payment or else he feared for his life.

Etherington had previously been treated for gambling addiction in 2006, but backslid after eighteen months clean. During his time away from gambling, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, and fined over $3000.

The jump from one addicted act to that of a different addiction is consistent with modern research, which indicates compulsive gambling is a symptom of an underlying physiological difference in the prefrontal cortex, manifesting itself in other ways if gambling opportunities are removed.

The club loaned Etherington over $500,000, and stipulated he must seek treatment for his problems.

Etherington found much of the public unsympathetic to his difficulty, as his salary of over $50,000 a week struck many as adequate to meet obligations.

Katherine Langton of Blackburn said, "If this idiot wasn't paid such ridiculous amounts of money he couldn't indulge in this madness."