Huge match-fixing revealed

The European police agency (Europol) has revealed that a wide-ranging investigation into match-fixing has uncovered more than 380 suspicious matches.

Last Updated: 05/02/13 at 20:23 Post Comment

These games include World Cup and European Championship qualifiers and two UEFA Champions League games, one of which was in England.

Europol's chief Rob Wainwright said the investigation found "match fixing activity on a scale we have not seen before", with one of the matches an unnamed Champions League clash in England.

Wainwright revealed the probe uncovered around £7m in betting profits and £1.27m in bribes to players and officials and has already led to several prosecutions.

The investigation identified about 425 corrupt officials, players and serious criminals in 15 countries and 50 arrests have been made so far.

Wainwright also stated that the involvement of organised crime "highlights a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe" with Asian gambling cartels identified as part of the match fixing operation.

Wainwright would not reveal the identity of the Champions League match staged in England under suspicion due to "ongoing judicial proceedings" - but he did confirm it had taken place in the "last three to four years" and admitted England was not a country under particular scrutiny.

He said: "The focus has been on other countries, not the United Kingdom. However we were surprised by the scale generally of the criminal enterprise and just how widespread it was.

"It would be naive and complacent of those in the UK to think such a criminal conspiracy does not involve the English game and all the football in Europe."

Europol also found another 300 questionable games outside Europe, mainly in Africa, Asia, South and Central America.

There was though an element of mystery surrounding the investigation in England with the Football Association admitting they did not know about the probe.

A spokesman for the FA said: "The FA are not aware of any credible reports into suspicious Champions League fixtures in England, nor has any information been shared with us.

"While the Champions League comes under UEFA jurisdiction, The FA, alongside the Premier League, Football League and Conference, monitor markets for the top seven leagues and three major cup competitions in England and take matters of integrity in football extremely seriously."

Europe's football governing body stressed it had a zero-tolerance approach to match-fixing.

It added in a statement: "UEFA is aware of the statements made by Europol regarding the alleged match-fixing that has taken place in various football competitions and expects to receive further information in the coming days.

"As part of the fight against the manipulation of matches, UEFA is already co-operating with the authorities on these serious matters as part of its zero-tolerance policy towards match-fixing in our sport.

"Once the details of these investigations are in UEFA's hands, then they will be reviewed by the appropriate disciplinary bodies in order that the necessary measures are taken."

Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Related News

Sky Bet

    • Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds

Most Commented

Readers' Comments

A

t the start of the season, after the RVP transfer, I confidently claimed that Arsenal would finish above United. I now regret it immensely.

Fuzzy_Dunlop
Reflecting On The F365 Pre-Season Predictions

D

aniel Storey generally did very well, going against the City won it last year so they're bound to win it this time grain. As for John Nicholson, I wouldn't trust him to predict correctly what day of the week it will be tomorrow.

Griff
Reflecting On The F365 Pre-Season Predictions

J

ose will have (and will always have) the total support of every Chelsea fan. Cant wait for that swagger to walk through the doors at Stamford Bridge and announce I'm back . It may not last for ever but hey it'll be exciting and worth the pain

cmh1966
The Pros And Cons Of Mourinho's Return...

Footer 365

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers expects a quick decision on Andy Carroll's future

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers admits he expects Andy Carroll's future to be decided quickly this summer.

Mata: Mourinho one of the best

Juan Mata would welcome the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Chelsea's new manager and says they must aspire to win the Premier League.

Zabaleta excited by Pellegrini

Pablo Zabaleta believes Manuel Pellegrini could be a great manager for Manchester City as his "way to play football is great".

Mail Box

Mails: Jol Out And Other Demands...

You might notice that we haven't included a single mail about teams in pubs, because most of them were terrible. Instead we have a disgruntled Fulham fan and Scouse maths...

A Night In The Pub With Aston Villa...

Villa are the latest team to get the pub treatment, while the morning mailbox also includes missives on Tony Pulis leaving Stoke and Chelsea's future under Jose Mourinho...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved