Brighton & Hove Albion have matched personal donations to aid the crisis caused by fires in Australia from goalkeeper and midfielder Mat Ryan and Aaron Mooy, both natives of the country who play for the side.
Ryan had pledged to donate 500 Australian dollars for every save made by keepers across the Premier League in the last round of top-flight action, having already made huge contributions along with Mooy.
“In light of the devastation caused by the bushfires back home, I’m donating 500 Australian dollars for every registered save by all Premier League goalkeepers across every @premierleague fixture for this weekend,” Ryan wrote on Instagram ahead of last weekend’s round of Premier League games.
“I’ve chosen to donate to the @wireswildliferescue emergency fund. Thank you to all for your support thus far and as a nation we really do appreciate your gratitude and generosity.
“However there continues to be homes lost, lives of both people and animals lost or in danger, along with whole communities, businesses and more.
“I hope we can continue in the same manner and continue to encourage and influence people into raising money for those affected.
With 56 saves made, his contribution totals around 28,000 Australian dollars. And, according to The Sun, the Seagulls have matched both Ryan and Mooy’s donations.
“I’m blown away. It is a phenomenal gesture and I would like to thank the club,” the 27-year-old stopper said.
Ryan’s first announcement came just around the time it was revealed that former cricketer Shane Warne was able to raise over £500,000 towards the relief efforts by selling his famous, green baggy cap.
Several other athletes from around the world have made sizable donations to the emergency rescue fund, including the likes of NBA stars Ben Simmons and Patty Mills, while tennis personalities Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios and Ashleigh Barty have done the same.
Meanwhile, Brighton is set to play Aston Villa at home this weekend and Bet365 is offering 8/13 odds on them winning. The Birmingham side is currently attached to 15/4 odds from said bookmakers, while a draw is at 7/2.
The Seagulls are in 14th on the Premier League table at the moment but are still dangerously close to the bottom three and will need to play a lot better during the second half of the season to avoid relegation. Betfair has 100/1 odds on Burnley, Brighton, and Bournemouth getting relegated at the end of the campaign while odds on Watford, Brighton, and Bournemouth going down are at 200/1.
Bet365 has odds of 1/12 on Brighton Staying up, though, with Southampton at 1/66 and Crystal Palace at 1/80. Newcastle United is 1/5 to do so with William Hill and the bookmakers are handing out 1/6 odds on West Ham in that regard. Watford is 2/9 with Betfair, Bournemouth is 10/11 with Betvictor, Aston Villa is the same with Paddy Power, and Norwich is 8/1 with MoPlay.
Ryan and his teammate Mooy’s gestures are very good ones but that Brighton moved to match their donations reflects very well on them as a club too. We hope that the many contributions which have poured in over the last two weeks or so could go a long way into helping curb the fires currently ravaging the Australian continent.
