ALL five players accused of betting against Accrington Stanley in May 2008 have formally denied the FA charges.

Current Stanley players Peter Cavanagh and Robbie Williams - as well as former Reds David Mannix, Jay Harris and Andy Mangan - were all charged by the FA last month with betting on Bury to beat Accrington in the final game of the 2007/08 campaign. Bury won the game 2-0 at the Fraser Eagle Stadium.

The five had until yesterday to respond and the FA have now released a statement confirming that they have all denied the charges.

The statement read: "The FA has received responses from five players who have been charged with breaches of The FA's rules on betting in football.

"David Mannix, Andrew Mangan, Robert Williams, Jay Harris and Peter Cavanagh have denied the charges issued against them and requested personal hearings.

"The majority of the charges related to bets placed on an end-of-season match between Accrington Stanley and Bury played on 3 May 2008. Betting companies in the North-West had reported unusual betting patterns in the lead-up to the match with higher than usual amounts being staked in particular areas of the country.

"Four of those charged – Jay Harris, David Mannix, Robert Williams and Peter Cavanagh – were registered with Accrington Stanley at the time of the game while Andrew Mangan was registered with Bury. Both Harris and Cavanagh played in the game.

"The charges will be now heard by an independent Regulatory Commission which will be scheduled in due course."

Stanley have already said that the two players still at the club, Cavanagh and Williams, will be sacked if they are found guilty.