BERLIN: A German paper said yesterday it had obtained details of some of the 200 matches under investigation in the match-fixing scandal that has rocked European football.
According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung’s website, the matches involved were generally lower profile matches and the gambling crooks bribed players to lose by a certain amount. The paper listed a sample of matches from Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia and Turkey.
For example, investigators are reportedly probing a match in the Swiss second division that took place between Yverdon Sport and FC Thun on April 26, 2009.
Players from the away team were reportedly bribed 15,000 euros ($22,000) to make sure they lost by a four-goal margin. The match ended 5-1.
In another match in the Belgian second division, players from UR Namur allegedly received backhanders to lose by two goals. Namur duly lost 2-0.
The beautiful game is still reeling from the allegations on Thursday that a gang of around 200 people have been rigging games in Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Austria and Switzerland. “Without doubt this is the biggest scam there has ever been in European football,” UEFA’s match-fixing specialist Peter Limacher said at a news conference on Friday in Germany, where the probe was organised. By bribing players, coaches, referees and officials to influence matches, the gang is thought to have earned as much as 10m euros in huge bets with bookmakers in Europe and Asia, primarily in China.
Around 300 police carried out around 50 raids on Thursday in Germany, Britain, Switzerland and Austria, arresting 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland. More than a million euros in cash and property were seized.
Melbourne leapfrog Sydney for lead
SYDNEY: Defending champions Melbourne Victory skipped two points clear at the top of Australia’s A-League as they continued their impressive away form in Brisbane this weekend.
Socceroos striker Archie Thompson’s diving header in the eighth minute sealed a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar for the Victory’s sixth win from seven games on the road this season.
Title rivals Sydney FC had the chance to leapfrog Victory to the top of the standings but they crashed to a 2-0 defeat to Glory in Perth yesterday.
Brisbane also lost their diminutive Brazilian attacker Henrique when he was shown a red card for a needless handball in the 88th minute.
Sydney dominated the opening half but went down to goals from Scott Bulloch and Serbian striker Branko Jelic in the second period. Perth’s first win in five matches kept the Glory in fifth spot.
Sydney hold down second place, one point ahead of Gold Coast United, who conceded a stoppage time equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Adelaide United.
An injury-time strike from promising young striker Matthew Leckie earned Adelaide a point after Gold Coast, playing with 10 men, looked set to take all the points. Gold Coast had led after a 64th-minute goal from midfielder Steve Fitzsimmons after defender Kristian Rees was controversially sent off when he was judged to have brought down a goalbound Leckie in the 33rd minute.
