A former Premier League footballer 'cast his net around ' for players willing to take part in a plot to fix lower league matches , a court has heard . Ex-Bolton Wanderers striker Delroy Facey , 34 , is alleged to have become involved in the 'ugly side ' of his sport by acting as a middleman for two men who have already been convicted of match-fixing . Facey , who also played for West Bromwich Albion and Hull City , denies conspiracy to commit bribery and is standing trial at Birmingham Crown Court alongside former non-league player Moses Swaibu , who also denies the charges . Delroy Facey ( right ) arrives at Birmingham Crown Court for the start of his trial on Monday . He is accused of being involved in a plot to fix lower league football matches . Facey ( right ) celebrates after scoring for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League in 2003 . Opening the Crown 's case against both Facey and Swaibu at the start of a three-week trial , prosecutor Nick Mather told jurors they would not need to know anything about football to try the defendants . Mr Mather told the jury panel : 'Football in this case is really nothing more than a means to an end - it 's an opportunity to make money . 'It 's described sometimes as the beautiful game but football has an ugly side to it as well , and it 's that ugly side we are going to be looking at . ' After explaining to jurors that match-fixers Chann Sankaran and Krishna Ganeshan were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery at a previous trial , Mr Mather alleged that Swaibu was one of the players they had tried to corrupt . Sankaran and Ganeshan , both from the Far East , were at the centre of the conspiracy , the court heard , having travelled to Britain with the specific purpose of fixing matches . Defendant Moses Swaibu ( right ) on the ball during an FA Cup match between Lincoln and Bolton in 2010 . The Crown alleges that the plot - which aimed to profit from rigged bets - targeted the lower leagues because of the high level of scrutiny surrounding the Premier League . Swaibu played at a semi-professional level between 2009 and 2014 , including stints with London-based Sutton FC and Brighton club Whitehawk . Jurors were also given details of Facey 's career , which included a spell at Lincoln City in which he earned around £65,000 during the 2010/11 season . Describing Facey 's alleged role in the conspiracy , Mr Mather added : 'He was a middleman , a fixer . He was somebody who cast his net around to find players who might be willing to take part in match-fixing . ' By the time of the alleged conspiracy in November 2013 , Mr Mather told the court , Facey was earning considerably less than previously . 'That may well have been his motivation , the prosecution say , for what took place , ' Mr Mather said of Facey 's reduced income . Facey ( top ) in action for West Brom during a match against Norwich City in March 2004 . Informing jurors that another footballer , former Whitehawk FC defender Michael Boateng , was also found guilty at a previous trial , Mr Mather said there was no doubt that an agreement to fix lower league matches occurred . 'This case is not about whether this scheme existed , ' the prosecutor told the jury . 'The issue for you to decide is whether you are sure that firstly , Delroy Facey , and secondly Moses Swaibu , was a part of that agreement . 'This case is focused on them and what they did , and why they did it . ' Facey , from Woodhouse Hill , Huddersfield , and 25-year-old Swaibu , of Tooley Street , Bermondsey , south London , deny conspiring together with others to commit bribery between November 1 and 27 , 2013 . Mr Mather said betting on football was not confined to the Premier League and extended from the very top of the sport down to semi-professional leagues . Lower league games in the Football Conference had been targeted , Mr Mather claimed , partly because highly-paid professionals would have to be offered 'astronomical ' sums to even think about becoming involved in corruption . Huddersfield 's Facey ( left ) vies with Brentford 's Michael Dobson during an old Second Division match in 2002 . The conspiracy came to the attention of the National Crime Agency after initial inquiries by a private investigator who wanted to expose match-fixing led to the identification of Sankaran . A national newspaper then became involved , the court was told , and Sankaran arrived in the UK in November 2013 . During a meeting with an undercover investigator on November 16 , Sankaran is alleged to have made unsuccessful attempts to contact footballers and made reference to an agent named Delroy who used to play for Bolton . At that point , the court heard , the National Crime Agency took over the investigation , deploying a covert officer to gather evidence . The officer met Sankaran five days later and mobile phones belonging to the defendants , including Facey , were subsequently seized . Mr Mather will continue his opening speech to the jury on Tuesday . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
Bolton is standing trial in Birmingham over match-fixing allegations . The former Premier League footballer denies conspiracy to commit bribery . Facey formerly played for Delroy Facey , West Brom and Hull City . He stands trial alongside former non-league player Moses Swaibu , who also denies the charges .