Match-fixing
scandal rocks Norway
Norway’s football association (NFF)
reported match-fixing allegations to the police on Monday amid suspicions that
players have teamed with organized criminals to rig results for betting
reasons.
NFF axed a second-division game between Ullensaker/Kisa and Ham Kam on Sunday over fears of outside
interference aimed at fixing the result.
Third-tier team
Follo also reported suspicions of
match-rigging to NFF after a second-half collapse in its game against Østsiden
saw the team shed a 3-0 lead in a match that ended 4-3 to the opposition.
Large bets were
made on the game shortly before kickoff on June 24th.
Police are also
expected to investigate a match played the same day between Asker and Frigg
after Asker reported its 7-1 defeat as suspicious.
“NFF and the clubs
want to assist the police to the best of our ability, which also means we are
unable to comment on specifics relating to the case in light of the
investigation,” said NFF president Yngve Hallén in a statement on Sunday.
Speaking to
newspaper Verdens Gang, NFF confirmed it had received information that the
alleged match-fixing scheme was organized by mafia groups in Sweden with ties
to the Balkan region.
“That
information could be true or false,” said NFF secretary general Kjetil Siem.
The newspaper said
a number of other centrally placed sources also claimed Sweden-based organized
crime groups had approached players in Norway in an attempt to fix matches.
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