Former Gillingham duo Tim O'Shea and Neil Smith unfortunately found themselves entwined in the recent Pakistan match-fixing allegations that has stunned the entire cricket world.


Tim O'Shea

Until last weekend the pair were happily ensconced as manager and assistant respectively at Ryman Premier League Croydon Athletic FC, the club that owner Mazhar Majeed, and alleged fixer in the Pakistan spot-betting scandal, is believed to have used to launder the millions made from the match-fixing.

Majeed, 35, was arrested and released on bail twice - once in connection with the fixing claims made in the News of the World and once relating to allegations of money laundering. The club was also raided by the taxman while the Football Association are expected to launch their own inquiry.

With the club's owner's future involvement remaining uncertain, and with the August wages of the players and management still unpaid, O'Shea and his assistant have called time on their two-year tenure. The Rams manager delivered an emotional farewell message to the club's supporters following the 3-1 home defeat to Concord Rangers last Saturday. After O'Shea convened one last huddle with his players and Chairman David Le Cluse on the pitch after the final whistle, he broke down as he began to address the clubs supporters. Smith took over and said: "Everything that has gone on in the last week has affected everybody. As from today onwards, the announcement is you will no longer see these players and management."


Neil Smith

The entire playing staff are now all expected to follow their management team out of the club.

Later a statement on the club's website revealed that both O'Shea and Smith had left with immediate effect. It read - Croydon Athletic Football Club announces that manager Tim O'Shea and his assistant Neil Smith have left the club with immediate effect. It thanks them sincerely for their service to the club since their arrival in 2008. Their record on the pitch has been exceptional and we wish them well in the future.

Croydon Athletic now have two weeks to find a new owner or face extinction.

A statement from the Ryman League read: "The Ryman League has been contacted by Croydon Athletic FC as a result of internal problems following allegations made in a national newspaper regarding the person widely regarded as the owner of the club.

"The club has been unable to pay the August wages for the players and are faced with a number of other financial claims. At the end of the club's home match with Concord Rangers the management team indicated that the side would be unlikely to play together again.

"The league has been working closely with the club during the past week and attended a meeting at the club last Wednesday with the chairman and three other senior members of the club. Croydon Athletic FC is doing all it can to stay in business and are hoping that by publicising their plight they may find someone willing to take over the club.

"The league has agreed to a request from the club to postpone its next two league fixtures - away to Tooting & Mitcham United on Tuesday, September 7 and home to Sutton United on September 18 - in order to give the club time to see if it can survive the difficult position in which it finds itself. The league and the club will then reconsider the position to ascertain whether or not the club can meet its commitments to the league for the remainder of the season."