He won his appeal over match fixing allegations - but had his damages slashed from �85,000 to just �1.

Four out of five Law Lords reinstated the High Court jury's verdict that the Sun newspaper had libelled him by claiming he took "bungs" for match fixing.

But they ruled that it had been proved Grobbelaar had accepted bribes.

It would be an affront to justice to award substantial damages to a man shown to have acted in such flagrant breach of his legal and moral obligations

Lord Bingham, Law Lord

The newspaper had failed to show that he had actually let in goals to fix matches and that was why the jury had found in his favour.

Lord Bingham, who led the panel of five Law Lords, said: "It would be an affront to justice if a court of law were to award substantial damages to a man shown to have acted in such flagrant breach of his legal and moral obligations.

"He had acted in a way in which no decent or honest footballer would act, and in a way which could, if not exposed and stamped on, undermine the integrity of a game which earns the loyalty and support of millions.

"Even if the newspaper had published no more than what it was entitled to have published, the appellant would have been shown to have acted in a way which any right-thinking person would unequivocally condemn."

Damning articles

The former football international took his case to the House of Lords after appeal judges dramatically overturned the jury's verdict.

The appeal judges stripped him of his �85,000 damages and left him with a legal costs bill estimated at about �1m.

The libel action was the third time that Grobbelaar had declared his innocence of match-fixing to a jury after the newspaper published a series of damning articles about him in November 1994.

Grobbelaar, who lives with his wife and two young daughters at Tisman's Common, Rudgwick, West Sussex, had sued The Sun newspaper and its former editor, Stuart Higgins, for substantial compensation.

'Affront to justice'

The Law Lord said evidence from secret tapes showed that Grobbelaar was involved in corrupt agreements, which were all denied by him at the libel trial.

On Thursday Lord Steyn, dissenting from the majority Law Lords decision, said he was in full agreement with the appeal court that the jury's verdict was an "affront to justice".

He added: "By recovering only derisory damages Mr Grobbelaar has, of course, effectively lost his action to clear his name."

Lord Millett, agreeing to the cut in damages, said: "It would be an affront to justice if a man who accepts bribes to throw matches should obtain damages."