The Football Association is to investigate allegations that a former Premier League footballer accepted a £50,000 bribe to help throw a game.

The player got himself sent off and persuaded three team-mates to get booked in a game "in Britain" in the last two years, says The Independent.

In exchange, a bookmaker allegedly agreed to write off a £50,000 debt the player had racked up.

"We will be making inquiries about the story," an FA spokesman told BBC Sport.

Players are prohibited from betting on matches or competitions in which they are involved under FA rules.

"First we need to find out if the match was inside our jurisdiction - the story says it was in Britain, but we don't know if it was in England," the FA spokesman added.

The case was disclosed privately by a source at a seminar on gambling at the Sporting Chance Clinic in Hampshire this week.

The player in question has been treated at Sporting Chance, which is supported financially by the FA and Professional Footballers Association.