Match-fixing: Champions League tie played in England 'was fixed'
A Champions League tie played in England is one of 380 matches across Europe investigators say was fixed.
European police did not reveal the identity of the match they believe was corrupt in England.
But Europol did say that they had uncovered an organised crime syndicate based in Asia that was co-ordinating the operation.
Some 425 match officials, club officials, players and criminals are suspected of being involved.
At a news conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Europol claimed:
The fixed Champions League tie in England took place in "last three or four years";
The identity of that match cannot be revealed due to "ongoing judicial proceedings";
Other "corrupt" matches included World Cup and European Championship qualifiers and "several top football matches in European leagues"; In Germany-based matches alone, criminals wagered £13.8m (16m euros) on rigged matches and made £6.9m in profits
Officials fear this is as the "tip of the iceberg".
Rob Wainwright, director of Europol - the European Union's law enforcement agency, said:"This is the work of a suspected organised crime syndicate based in Asia and operated with criminal networks around Europe.
"It is clear to us this is the biggest-ever investigation into suspected match-fixing in Europe. It has yielded major results which we think have uncovered a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe.
"We have uncovered an extensive criminal network."
Europol, which has been investigating for 18 months, said suspected matches included World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, two Champions League ties and "several top football matches in European leagues".
In addition to the £13.8m wagered on Germany-based matches, payments of £1.73m are thought to have been paid to those involved. The biggest payment to an individual was £121,000, according to investigators.
Europol believes a crime syndicate based in Asia was liaising with criminal networks throughout Europe. It believes match-fixing has taken place in 15 countries and 50 people have so far been arrested.
In total, 30 countries and close to 700 matches worldwide were examined. Many of the allegations involved matches in lower divisions around Europe.
Criminal convictions have been secured in Germany, Finland, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria following investigations.
Asked specifically about the allegations surrounding the Champions League tie held in England, Wainwright declined to identify the match because of "ongoing judicial proceedings".
However he did say it happened in the last three to four years, before adding: "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."
here is a story before the revelation i'll try and update with the latest story later on or if someone else wants to :)
Quote:
Results of European match-fixing probe set to be revealed
European police authorities are set to reveal details of an investigation into whether hundreds of matches were fixed across the continent.
The European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, looked into allegations around matches in at least nine countries since 2007.
Europol's inquiry was widened from an initial number of around 40 matches.
Some Champions League and Europa League matches were included in the investigation.
Having been led by German police, the investigation is thought to have uncovered evidence of match-fixing in the Turkish first division, the German lower leagues and in Switzerland.
Matches in Hungary, Bosnia, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Belgium were also assessed.
The Europol investigation has so far led to several arrests and convictions, with the leader of one criminal gang currently serving a five-and-a-half year jail term.
Europol are expected to give further details of the investigation, which is not thought to have uncovered match-fixing in Britain, at a news conference in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Uefa president Michel Platini recently said that match-fixing presented the biggest threat to the future of football.
"If tomorrow, we go watch a game already knowing the outcome, football is dead," said the former French international captain.
Match-fixing revenues comparable to global firms - Interpol
Match-fixing in football today generates "hundreds of billions of euros per year" around the world, the head of Interpol has warned.
Secretary General Ronald Noble said revenues from illegal betting were "on the same scale as a Coca-Cola company".
He was speaking in Rome at a conference with the world football governing body Fifa on how to deal with the issue.
Both sides talked about the need for education targeting those vulnerable to the pressure of the fixers.
'Many-headed dragon'
Mr Noble said that criminal networks were not only benefiting from the profits of match-fixing, but were also able to launder their illegally earned cash.
He said that no country was immune, citing Canada as an example.
Although football in the North American nation was a very minor sport run by volunteers, even there players were often approached to fix games, he said.
"Match-fixing is clearly a many-headed dragon that we must slay with a co-ordinated national and international effort."
Reason why our ladies lost to the americans too? :suspicious:
quasi
02-04-2013 05:34 AM
Cash is king, I'm not surprised. I don't like soccer and part of me wants to pile on but I'm willing to bet it happens in every single sport to one extent or another.
bloodline129
02-04-2013 06:02 AM
We live in a crooked world.... For centuries, and nowadays these things turn up as scandals... They justify the fact they spent millions on some task force to investigate all this and put these people in jails.
3 years later there is a new head honcho, new scheme, new crooks aaaaaand new task force that's gonna investigate another 10 years to put them in jails :) Posted via RS Mobile
Anjew
02-04-2013 08:41 AM
maybe luongo got payed off early on after his big contract with us
StylinRed
02-04-2013 03:27 PM
sounds more like officials rather than players were paid off which could help explain some excessive insane calls in some games :)
jello24
02-04-2013 10:28 PM
anyone that wants to know anything about match fixing in soccer should read "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime" by Declan Hill.
You will never look at another football match in the same light again after reading this book. Every decision by the referees, bad plays by players, questionable subs by managers and you will start asking yourself whether there's a fix in or not.
Beautiful game when played well, but really rife with corruption to its core. Really unfortunate.
prznali
02-07-2013 09:54 AM
this is just one example .. there is so many more games that are set up
spideyv2
02-07-2013 11:36 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by jello24
(Post 8151731)
anyone that wants to know anything about match fixing in soccer should read "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime" by Declan Hill.
You will never look at another football match in the same light again after reading this book. Every decision by the referees, bad plays by players, questionable subs by managers and you will start asking yourself whether there's a fix in or not.
Beautiful game when played well, but really rife with corruption to its core. Really unfortunate.
Heard his interview on 1040 this morning, what he did was extremely ballsy
