Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) dismantled an alleged football betting syndicate, arresting seven suspects including three current athletes and a former Premier League player, according to the BBC.

The names of the lower league teams involved were not named as the investigation is ongoing.

The NCA confirmed on Friday that five of the men have posted bail and will report to court in the coming months. Two of the suspects, Chann Sankaran and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, will remain in custody until a court date on December 13.

Sankaran and Ganeshan, alleged members of a Singapore-based syndicate, have been charged with conspiracy to defraud. They face a maximum sentence of 10 years.

England's Football Association acknowledged the NCA investigation but did not offer a comment.

The Telegraph conducted an investigation into the syndicate and obtained "a series of covertly recorded conversations over the past fortnight," where an alleged member of the group "claimed that lower league matches could be fixed for as little as £50,000 ," or about US$80,000.

The newspaper says that allegations of match-fixing "will cause serious concern" for the Football Association, but former Premier League chief executive Rick Parry said that the allegations were not surprising.

Lower league matches involve less money so lower league players and teams are seen as more susceptible to bribery and match-fixing, he said.

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