John Hartson: I’m being hounded for gambling debts
Posted Thursday, October 13, 2011 by The Sun
JOHN HARTSON last night revealed that he is being hounded over gambling debts.
The former Arsenal, West Ham and Celtic star at one point owed more than £300,000.
Hartson insists he has done his best to repay as much as he can while curbing his addiction to betting and rebuilding his life. He is also in remission from cancer.
Yet the big Welshman admits he is still haunted by his past.
Hartson said: "Some people just cannot let it go and they are still hassling me.
"They are still offering me the opportunity to bet, trying to make a way into my friendship. I don't want to go down that road again. I've paid back as much as I can of my debts. I cannot physically afford to repay any more."
Troubled Hartson says his long list of creditors signed up to an IVA — an Individual Voluntary Agreement.
It meant he repaid 12p of every pound of debt he had racked up during his darkest days after signing for West Brom in 2006.
He added: "At one point I owed between three and four hundred grand.
"I have done my best to pay back what I can because I have never knocked anyone in my life.
"I'm a good guy. I was struggling with an illness — gambling.
"Everyone agreed to the IVA and people were warned not to take any more bets from me because I was like an alcoholic, except I was addicted to gambling.
"I was vulnerable yet people wanted to take bets from me, get tickets from me and be my friend.
"Now I want to draw a line under it all and get it out in the open.
"I hope others can read my story and use it to help them."
Hartson has cleaned himself up after a miraculous recovery from testicular cancer two years ago and is determined to make the most of his fresh start as a TV pundit.
The Welshman added: "I now know I never want to go down that road again. I'm not a bad guy. I was simply suffering with an illness.
"Cancer made me appreciate what I've got and I've been given a second chance. I now have a future. I have grown up and want to change."
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