A former Ipswich striker has spoken of the nightmare of being embroiled in an alleged football betting scandal after he was given a yellow card playing against Town at Portman Road.

DJ Campbell was among six people arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in late 2013. However, he was released without charge after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to pursue the case.

At the time he was playing for Blackburn Rovers, but had spent time with Ipswich in a three-month loan deal from QPR in October 2012.

In December 2013 a national Sunday newspaper claimed a tackle made by the striker in the 23rd minute on Town defender Aaron Cresswell during a game at Portman Road which resulted in Campbell receiving a yellow card was under scrutiny by the NCA.

In a televised interview with the BBC the former Premier League star who also played for Birmingham and Blackpool told how the allegations led to his children being verbally abused and left him considering retirement.

The 34-year-old said: “It was tough. It was tough. I couldn’t concentrate on myself to do the job I wanted to do which kind of made my football kind of go downhill a bit in that period.

“I would go home and my missus would tell me what has happened in her day.

“The paparazzi had been following her to school and kids had been giving my kids a bit of mouth.”

Campbell said that being a footballer meant he was used to being in the public spotlight, but his family suffered from the fallout from the negative publicity.