Bobby Robson believes the Bruce Grobbelaar scandal should serve as a warning to the rest of football.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper's reputation is in tatters after three Court of Appeal judges ruled he was guilty of accepting corrupt payments. The judgment overturned a jury's verdict that The Sun had libelled him by claiming he took ''bungs'' for match fixing.

Robson, the former England boss now in charge at Newcastle, has managed clubs in Portugal, Holland and Spain, and is concerned that the scandal has tarnished football's image.

He said: ''It's not good for the game. I don't want to speculate about it, but it's just a warning to anybody who's daft enough to think down the same track.

''The game can do without it. The modern player now has just got to concentrate on being a footballer and being successful. You don't need anything else in your life, the game will provide you with everything.

''If you succeed in your career, you've hit the jackpot. Just develop your career, just concentrate on being a good player, and everything else will follow.''

Grobbelaar has continued to protest that he is completely innocent of any wrongdoing.

He told South African television yesterday: ''Whatever happens, from day one I have never done anything wrong. I am flabbergasted by the decision.

''It's not over yet, we are going to petition the House of Lords. It looks like they The Sun may be getting another piece of paper because I did win two criminal trials.''

The judges in the appeal hearing said there was no evidence to suggest Grobbelaar had deliberately let in goals, but that he had taken money on the understanding it was to fix games.

Grobbelaar's salary at Liverpool would have been around £200,000 a year, or £4,000 a week. It may be peanuts compared with the sums earned by the top players today, but it still made him a wealthy man.

The Football Association's lawyers are looking at the case again to see whether further action should be taken.

Jimmy Hill, the former Coventry and Fulham chairman who is now a Sky TV presenter, said: ''I don't think a new investigation would reveal more than has already been revealed.

''There's only one person who knows whether he let the goals in or not. Taking the money and leaving it as that is still a crime, but it's not nearly as serious as deliberately letting in goals.''