The League of Ireland has confirmed that a garda investigation is under way following an incident in which it said a member of the public offered to bribe a player involved in a recent fixture.
The league said the player immediately rejected the offer to participate in what is referred to as spot-fixing - the performance of a particular action during a sporting fixture for the purposes of gambling.
Yesterday, officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau carried out a search as part of the investigation and seized a number of items which they say have potential evidential value.
No arrests were made but gardaí have described it as a live criminal investigation.
The league praised the player for their response to the incident and thanked the player's club, the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland and gardaí for their assistance with the matter.
"The League of Ireland can confirm it is aware of an An Garda Síochána operation involving a member of the public after a player in the League of Ireland was allegedly approached and immediately rejected an offer to participate in spot-fixing," the statement read.
"We would like to thank and praise the player who immediately reported the incident in accordance with the integrity workshops delivered by the FAI to every team in advance of the each season.
"We would also like to thank the PFA Ireland, the player's club and An Garda Síochána for their assistance on the matter."
The PFAI added of the player approached: "There is no concern related to his involvement in any spot-fixing or match-fixing and we commend him on his actions in this regard.
"His response in this situation and the actions he took were exactly as we recommend to players.
"PFA Ireland has done extensive work with players in the past number of years to educate them on the dangers related to spot-fixing and match-fixing and the actions they must take if approached.
"With the support of FIFPRO, the World Players Union, all players have access to The Red Button app, a reporting tool related to spot-fixing and match-fixing.
"Players also receive education annually through FAI integrity workshops."
