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Croydon Athletic chairman David Le Cluse, alongside owner Mazhar Majeed (left) and director Roy Price (right)
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A football chairman whose club was embroiled in the Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal has shot himself.
David Le Cluse died on Saturday, apparently devastated by claims money might have been laundered through Croydon Athletic FC.
The 44-year-old chairman was found at 10.40am by police after calls from passers-by.
Mr Le Cluse, who ran Merlin Pest Control, based in Beckenham, Kent, had shot himself with a .22 rifle, found with him in the garage. No suicide note has been recovered.
Officers sealed off the lock-up in Sutton, South London, but are not looking for anyone else in connection with Mr Le Cluse’s death. Friends said he had been under intense pressure after club owner Mazhar Majeed was arrested for allegedly fixing no-balls in the Lord’s Test in August.
Majeed, 33, was filmed taking £150,000 before correctly predicting when bowlers would overstep the mark. Police arrested him on suspicion of fraud and, within hours of his release, customs investigators detained him for alleged moneylaundering.
It emerged that customs were investigating Majeed for months, examining cash passed through Croydon Athletic, who play in the Ryman League Premier Division. Speaking at the time, Mr Le Cluse insisted he would stand by the club, saying: "Hopefully, the allegations will prove to be untrue and we can carry on.
“We have a magnificent team and magnificent support and we are trying to resolve this.”
Majeed was later re-questioned by police who also interviewed Pakistan captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Wahab Riaz.
Majeed’s wife Sheliza Manji, who has links to Croydon Athletic, has also been quizzed about alleged money-laundering. But there is no suggestion that the club’s directors committed any offences.
Croydon Athletic have vowed to continue playing this season. Majeed has paid a bond, thought to be £10,000, to the Ryman League which guarantees the club will fulfil all its fixtures.
But the squad now has only apprentices and volunteer players after its first team and manager Tim O’Shea left last month.