SINCE recovering from the potentially fatal brain tumour he was diagnosed with five years ago, Dominic Matteo appreciates the simpler things in life.

“I could have nothing and be happy,” said the former Scotland internationalist during a visit to The City Stadium in the shadow of Hampden earlier his week.

“I know where I am at now. I know what is important. I had all the trappings of fame and I lost them. But money, cars and all that? It’s all b******* really. I am happy to get to bed and wake up the next day.”

Matteo, the Dumfries-born former Liverpool, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City defender cum midfielder who made six appearances for his country in the early 2000s, did not always have such an uncomplicated world view. 

Like so many professional footballers before him and since, he spent years privately battling a gambling addiction. He squandered colossal sums of money and ran up massive debts before finally being declared bankrupt in 2015.

He struggles to recognise the person he once was when he looks back on that dark period in his life now. “My memory is sketchy after what has happened to me,” he said. “But the most I ever lost over a day or a couple of days would probably be around half a million. I am embarrassed by that. I am sickened by it. What was I thinking?” 

Matteo eventually sought help. He approached Sporting Chance, the charity set up by former Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams to assist athletes who are experiencing mental and emotional health issues, and has successfully overcome his affliction.

However, the 50-year-old knows that gambling addiction remains a scourge on the beautiful game. In fact, he suspects that it is, with the rise in online betting in recent years, more of a problem now than ever before.

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“It is an easy thing for a footballer to fall into,” he said. “I genuinely feel like it could be an epidemic. The thing is we don’t know do we? A lot of it is hidden away. In my era, you would go and see a bookmaker. Nowadays it is more online. It is more accessible. You can just get a tab and run up as much as you want.”

Matteo was pleased when he was approached by EPIC Global Solutions and asked to assist with a gambling harm awareness programme which is being delivered to players, staff and supporters at the 42 senior clubs in his homeland as part of the SPFL title sponsorship deal with William Hill.     

He knows only too well the pitfalls which those involved at every level of the sport can fall into and hopes that hearing his cautionary tale will ensure that others avoid making the mistakes which he did in the future.

“Gambling wasn’t really an issue for me when I was younger,” he said. “When I first started at Liverpool the wages weren’t that big. You have to prove yourself at a club like that.

“My issues came when I left Liverpool. I was at Leeds United, a great club going in the right direction at that time. But I was in a small apartment in the city centre and had a bookies over the road.

“I was on my own for long periods of time. I had a good disposable income and I made stupid mistakes. Was it boredom? I think it was. But you don’t realise it is happening, it is weird.

(Image: Andrew Barr) “When I bought some horses it escalated. I put on bigger and bigger bets. You think you are more in control. You think, ‘I own a few horses so the information I am going to get is going to help’. How wrong can you be!

“You got approached a lot when you went to the races at Cheltenham, Ascot or Aintree. A bookmaker would say, ‘Who do you bet with? Why don’t you come and bet with me? I’ll give you a bit of money to be your bookmaker’. They might throw quite a bit of money into your bank to start with. Before you know it, they have got you by the balls. 

“There were some highs, I did win some. But you only discuss the wins, not the losses. Even today, I only talk about the days when I won a lot of money, not when I lost a fortune, half a million or whatever it might have been. Not those days when you are thinking, ‘S***, I have lost this money, how do I explain this to everyone?’

“I was embarrassed to admit that. It was only when my daughter was born that it really opened my eyes to it. I thought, ‘Wow! What a waste! How could I have done that differently?’.” 

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Matteo continued: “Now I am involved with EPIC I have got a chance to put that right and try to help the next generation. There will be players out there who are still struggling. There are lots of players who are in that position. They need to be looked after and managed properly. I don’t think we had any of that in our era.

“Now we are going to be going into clubs talking about it. Could we have done this earlier? I genuinely think if we had education on it then it might not have happened. But it happened.

“For me now, if I can get out and talk about what happened to me and my issues and if I can help a few people, then that’s what I am here for. I am going to hopefully be making a difference.

“Life is okay at the minute, I have lots going on. Business is going well, I am still working for Leeds, still doing a bit for Liverpool. Things are good. But that is not enough for me. I want to help and I want to get involved. That’s why when EPIC approached me it was something I wanted to get stuck into.

“It is in my genes to help. My eyes were down the way. Now they are open again. It is like when you have a new chance in life after you’ve been told you only have so long to live. I went: ‘Sod this, you’re not having me!’. That is how I approach it now. I live for every day.” 

Dominic was speaking at the launch of a new gambling harm prevention programme, being delivered to players, staff and supporters at all 42 SPFL clubs, as part of the competition’s new title sponsorship deal with William Hill.

A series of education sessions will be delivered across the clubs by EPIC Global Solutions, who have been enlisted to provide speakers who have experienced gambling-related harm and will recount their experiences to help audiences recognise the signs of similar issues in their own lives.