A Chinese spectator was detained at Crawley Town’s match on Sunday against Coventry City on suspicion of communicating match details for use by overseas betting syndicates.
In a joint operation between Sussex Police, Northampton Police and the FA Fraud Team, he was taken to a part of the Sixfields Stadium in Northampton for questioning.
Neither club, spectators nor players knew what was going on.
Sargeant Darren Taylor said: “It was intelligence-led and confirmed that there was electronic correspondence between him and overseas.”
The man, who was from Northampton, was asked to leave the ground and the evidence gained will be used as part of an FA investigation into illegal gambling and fraud.
It is understood information was being transmitted about the match such as corners or free-kicks won to take advantage of up to a minute’s time delay before TV coverage is broadcast in some countries.