THE City duo at the centre of a betting scandal have until today to respond to the charges made against them.

Jay Harris and David Mannix are facing serious sanctions after being charged by the FA last month for breaching betting rules.

Harris, 22, and Mannix, 23, along with three other players, were accused of gambling on Accrington Stanley to lose while they were registered with the Lancashire club last year.

The midfielders, signed by Chester on free transfers from Stanley last June, were given until April 23 to respond to the charges.

But the FA put that date back and have set a revised deadline of today.

Harris and Mannix were among a group of five players charged for breaching betting rules, the others being Accrington’s Robbie Williams and Peter Cavanagh and former Bury striker Andrew Mangan, now of Forest Green Rovers. The majority of the charges relate to bets placed on an end-of-season League Two game between Accrington and Bury on May 3, 2008. Of the five, Harris and Cavanagh played in the match.

FA rules prohibit players from betting on their own games.

Harris has also been charged in relation to allegedly betting on a match involving the Blues and another two League Two fixtures.