Arrests made in massive European Football match-fixing scandal

by Frank Liao | November 20, 2009 at 11:59 am

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Multiple arrests were made by the German police in connection with a massive match-fixing scandal affecting over 200 European football games in the Champions League and Uefa Europa League. Fifteen people were arrested in Germany, with two more arrests coming from Switzerland.

The matches under investigation were played in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Austria.

Uefa made an official statement via their website:

This case proves that it is possible for a state investigative authority to work closely together with a sports governing body when it comes to corruption or match-fixing, and it is gratifying to see that the Betting Fraud Detection System endorsed by the UEFA President, Michel Platini, is already bearing fruit.

UEFA will be demanding the harshest of sanctions before the competent courts for any individuals, clubs or officials who are implicated in this malpractice, be it under state or sports jurisdiction

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Uefa representative Peter Limacher said that this scandal is "clearly" the worst ever match-fixing scandal in European football history. Limacher added that "we are deeply affected by the scope of game manipulations by international gangs".

Uefa was able to detect the latest match-fixing scandal in part due to their early warning system which flags up unusual betting parterns. They instituted this system after a German football referee Robert Hoyzer confessed to manipulating games in second division, third division and German cup.

The betting fraud detection system monitors real-time betting, giving investigators an immediate idea of whether there are irregular patterns.

The recent arrests would seem to indicate the detection process is working, but the scale of the manipulation must be a concern, says BBC Sports reporter Alex Capstick.