Town boss Paul Jewell says he will decide whether to name Michael Chopra in his starting line-up against his old club Cardiff on Saturday on what’s best for the team. Yesterday, Chopra was charged with various breaches of the rules of racing by the British Horseracing Authority with a hearing due to take place in January.
Jewell told the club site: "It’s not an ideal situation for us or Michael, obviously. These are allegations though so we must not be judgemental. They also relate to before he became an Ipswich Town player.
"We will continue to support Michael as we have done through his gambling addiction. He’s our player and as a club we have done everything we can to support him.
"We are here to help him. We have people at the club who are trying to help him on a daily basis. He knows that but he has to help himself as well. We want to get the best out of him. He’s a good player and we want him scoring goals for this club.
"He’s fit for Saturday but any decision I make on the team that plays Cardiff — and any game for that matter — will be based on what is best for the team and nothing else .
"I look at the players on the training ground every day, who is looking sharp, who isn’t and I base my judgement on that and nothing else that is happening outside the club.”
Meanwhile, Doncaster's James Coppinger, who is on loan at Nottingham Forest and is amongst the other eight people accused, has released a statement protesting his innocence: "I am here to state categorically that I have never been involved in any horse race fixing whatsoever.
"I can confirm that I have never done anything which brings Doncaster Rovers, Nottingham Forest, myself or my family into disrepute and I will welcome the hearing in January to totally clear my name."