Fifa charge six in match-fixing investigation
Fifa have brought charges against six match officials involved in alleged match-fixing at an international friendly exhibition tournament.
On the case: Fifa headquarters in Zurich Photo: AFP
By Paul Kelso 9:54AM GMT 10 Mar 2011
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Four national teams - Latvia, Bolivia, Estonia and Bulgaria - were invited to Antalya in Turkey last month for a double header and the two games produced seven goals, all scored from penalties.
Officials from the four countries involved afterwards raised questions about the game with Fifa and Uefa, and queried the identities of the match officials involved. Unusual betting patterns on the matches also alerted investigators.
Following an investigation, Fifa have now brought charges against six officials.
A Fifa statement read: "Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against six match officials in relation to the international A friendly matches Bolivia v Latvia and Estonia v Bulgaria played in Antalya (Turkey) on 9 February 2011.
"The proceedings were opened following an evaluation of all documentation and information received by Fifa, in relation to a possible match-fixing situation in these matches.
"The Fifa Disciplinary Committee will be in charge to deal with the matter."
The games in question were played consecutively on neutral territory at the Mardan Stadium. All seven goals were penalties, an outcome described by one bookmaking source as “freakishly unlikely”. One of the penalties was ordered to be retaken after the first kick was missed.
Last month, sources told Telegraph Sport that Fifa were examining whether the games had been manipulated to enable gamblers to profit on the market for total goals in each game.
Both matches are understood to have been handled by the same team of Hungarian officials, who, according to the authorities in Budapest, were qualified only to officiate in the third tier of domestic football. The referee, identified as Kolos Lengyl, and his assistants, have been suspended by the Hungarian football federation.
In February, Fifa confirmed that they were investigating the matches after being alerted by “various sources”, and claimed that their Early Warning System, which monitors betting patterns with legitimate bookmakers, had informed the investigation. Telegraph Sport, however, learned that Uefa and Fifa were alerted to concerns over the games as early as Jan 29.
The lack of oversight over the arrangements for the game, and the confusion over the match officials, raises questions over the credibility of friendly internationals at a time when they are increasingly unpopular with major European clubs and leagues.
Estonian FA spokesman, Mihkel Uiboleht, said that the federation president, Aivar Pohlack, wrote to Uefa and Fifa raising his concerns about the arrangements for their game. Pohlack was particularly concerned about the lack of clarity over the identity of the officials.
Despite this, the matches still went ahead and the identity of the referee remained uncertain until three days after the game when the Hungarian FA confirmed it believed Lengyl was in charge.
The Estonian, Latvian and Bolivian federations have expressed their concerns over the handling of the matches, and insist that their teams were not involved in anything untoward.
Uiboleht said the federation’s concerns were not shared with the players at any stage.
paul kelso, exhibition tournament, disciplinary proceedings, telegraph sport, domestic football, neutral territory, disciplinary committee, double header, two games, gamblers, referee, zurich, uefa, investigators, afp, budapest, bolivia, match, bulgaria, nbsp
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