If Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, did the equivalent job in the National Football League he would not have been allowed to run up alleged gambling debts of £100,000 to a bookmaker.
Taylor, whose £1,082,615 a year salary makes him the highest paid trade union official in the U.K., is alleged to have placed more than £4 million on around 2,000 bets in 30 months.
Taylor, 68, has broken no rules while his members are only forbidden to bet on themselves or their teams. Nothing illegal, but ensuring Taylor will be remembered by many for his gambling rather than fighting on behalf of footballers for the best part of half a century. It can take a long time to build an image, which can then be destroyed by a single act.