Two ex-pros accused of blackmail by manager who 'bet £879,000 over two years'

Two former professional footballers have been accused of blackmail by a manager who 'bet £879,000' in just two years, The Athletic have revealed.

Brace yourself, this is not a typical F365 report.

This is a court case that was dropped on Friday after the official in question made it clear that he did not wish to proceed.

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Former Nottingham Forest and Leicester City defender Alan Rogers (pictured above) has been charged with one count of blackmail. Another charge came as he was accused of perverting the course of justice.

The second player involved was Steven Jennings, the former Everton academy product who spent most of his career with Tranmere Rovers. He was facing the same charges plus another for blackmail.

Both individuals have denied the charges and they have now been dropped after the official tried to shut down the matter throughout this year.

The Athletic was the only media outlet to have had access to the case and they learned some extraordinary details.

They revealed the manager placed £879,000 in bets over two years, resulting in a loss of £270,000.

The manager - who was an 'admitted gambling addict' - had "up to eight betting accounts" and it is said that a "handful of his bets were football-related".

But perhaps the most ridiculous revelation is that the detective in charge of the case, and his son, were invited by the manager "to watch one of his team's games".

This detective was later removed from the case, but the prosecution attorney argued that he should remain involved as he "did not request or use the game tickets". He had also "spent a great deal of time cultivating a 'trusting relationship' with the Complainant".

The manager has repeatedly insisted this year that he wants the deal over because he "wants to get on with his life" and move on.

He won't get his wish though, as Rogers has insisted he will "sue" the manager as he "wants to get back every penny" he lost in legal fees:

"I have no idea how I got dragged into this, it's God's honest truth," Rogers told The Athletic after the hearing .

"I have to be careful what I say because I'm going to throw the book at him (the manager).

"I've never met this guy, never spoken to him, never been in his company, never been in contact, and somehow, I got sucked into his gambling addiction.

"I'm going to sue him now. It cost me between £85,000 and £100,000 in legal fees for something I had absolutely no knowledge of. I knew it was going to be thrown out of court.< /p>

"I'm posting £100,000 bail with my solicitor and want every penny I've lost back.

"I'm going to sue him and I'll give every penny I have to hit him from every angle.

"I will also challenge his anonymity because I was named in public when I did absolutely nothing. It's actually comical, but the last few years have been a nightmare."

Naturally, so that he cannot be identified, the report does not reveal whether the coach is still involved in football.

This case "involved years of detective work" and had to be tried until the official changed his mind.

A series of delays are said to have held up the case and the Crown Prosecution Service "had come under fire" over its handling of a situation which had a "long difficult history".

We will provide updates on the situation if new details emerge.