'Gone in an hour' - Banned Leeds United man reveals extent of gambling problem at Elland Road and transfer mistake

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Ex-Leeds United striker Pawel Cibicki is serving a four-year suspension from all professional football-related activities that was handed out in 2021 for a match-fixing offence commited in 2019, when he was in Sweden.

Cibicki has admitted his Elland Road transfer fuelled a gambling problem which has resulted in the postponement of his top-level football career.

In a new interview with Sportbladet, the 30-year-old admits a significant salary increase he received upon signing for Leeds in 2017 fuelled a high-stakes gambling problem, which has ultimately cost him the past three years of his career.

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As quoted by SportWitness, Cibicki said: "I had to choose between Leeds and Leganés. I should have obviously chosen Spain and La Liga – that’s much more my kind of football.

“Gambling was about to take over completely, and my girlfriend at the time didn’t want to follow me into professional life, she wanted to stay in Sweden. And when I was left alone there in England, everything went completely off the rails. I was getting a little over 200,000 kronor (£14,500) a month from Leeds – that could be gone in an hour. There was no limit.”

In September 2021, having left Leeds a year prior, Cibicki was banned by the Swedish FA for four years after being found guilty of match-fixing by the country's Court of Appeals. The player was found to have been bribed into receiving a yellow card in a match whilst representing Swedish club Elfsborg.

Despite appealing to the Swedish Supreme Court, Cibicki's ban was upheld and ratified by FIFA, prohibiting him from football-related activity on a global scale for the duration of the Swedish FA's four-year sentence.

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"There was always some bonus or something from Leeds," Cibicki added. "Money had completely lost its value to me at this time. It was zero, just air.”

Cibicki last played competitively for Polish outfit Pogon Szczecin following loan spells with Molde, Elfsborg and ADO Den Haag. He remains banned until January 1, 2026, at which point he will be a week shy of his 32nd birthday.

If you have been affected by anything in this article, or wish to seek further information about gambling, visit gamstop.co.uk.

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