LONDON: Three people were arrested yesterday following fresh allegations of match-fixing in English football, authorities announced.
Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said it had acted on information passed on by the Sun on Sunday tabloid.
The paper said an undercover reporter had met former Portsmouth player Sam Sodje, who allegedly boasted he’d arranged for a player in English football’s second-tier Championship to get themselves a yellow card in return for £30,000 ($49,000, €36,000 euros).
It also alleged the 34-year-old Sodje had said he could rig Premier League matches and that the former Nigeria international, who played in the Premier League for Reading, was preparing to rig fixtures at next year’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
Meanwhile the Sun on Sunday said Oldham’s Cristian Moldano apologised to Sodje after failing to get a first-half yellow card as part of an alleged betting scam during a match against Wolves on October 22.
Gamblers can make huge sums by betting on incidents such as yellow or red cards, penalties, late goals and corner kicks.
Colin Farmery, a spokesman for fourth-tier English south coast club Portsmouth, said: “If these serious allegations are true then we are extremely shocked and saddened by them, as match-fixing of any type goes to the heart of the integrity of the game.
“The player in question no longer plays for the club and we have not been contacted by the authorities, but of course we would co-operate fully with any inquiry.”
League One or third tier Oldham said they had launched an internal investigation of their own.
“Oldham Athletic Football Club has been made aware of the incident and allegation surrounding one of its players, Cristian Montano,” a statement issued by the north-west club said.
“The club will commence an immediate internal investigation. The club is co-operating with other agencies in this matter and cannot comment on specific facts at this stage.”
The NCA, which deals with serious and organised crime in Britain, said it had been passed information about the alleged match-fixing from the newspaper.
“An active NCA investigation is now underway and we are working closely with the Football Association and the Gambling Commission,” it said in a statement.
“Three people are in custody and are being questioned by NCA officers. We cannot comment further at this stage.”
A spokeswoman said the arrests had been made yesterday but declined to identify the suspects, nor could she elaborate on the offences they were accused of.
Four people were charged this week in a separate NCA investigation into an alleged Singapore-based betting syndicate involving non-league English football.
Speaking about yesterday’s allegations, Football League chief executive Shaun Harvey said any claims of criminal activity were treated “with the utmost seriousness”. AFP
