Sweeping police raids pick up Czech FA’s Berbr on match-fixing charges
October 19 – The vice-president of the Czech Football Association has been taken into custody after becoming embroiled in a match-fixing scandal he vehemently denies.
Match-fixing
Paraguayan club boss banned for life for match-fixing
September 29 – FIFA has handed Marco Antonio Trovato Villalba, president of the Paraguayan club Olimpia, a life-time ban from the game after finding the football official guilty of match manipulation.
Match-fixing down slightly as fixers target weekdays and international games, finds report
September 2 – The number of betting related fixed matches saw a fractional decrease in 2020, according to the third annual Suspicious Betting Trends in Global Football Report.
Armenian League, ravaged by match-fixing, secures record betting sponsorship with VBET
August 17 – Armenian football, which has been so plagued by match-fixing that it abandoned its second tier league, has announced a new sponsorship deal with online bookmaker brand VBET, owned by BetConstruct.
Match-fixing: Europol warns organised crime gangs are taking football in their grip
By Paul Nicholson
August 7 – The involvement of organised criminal gangs (OCGs) in sports, and football in particular, is increasing in Europe and the Covid crisis has accelerated that increase, according to a new report by Europol, the European Union’s agency for law enforcement cooperation.
Match-fixing: AFC adds goalkeeper to long list of Laos players banned for life
August 3 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has issued another life time ban on a Laos national team player for match fixing.
Football’s Deep State: Are match-fixers infiltrating the governing bodies and their suppliers?
By Paul Nicholson
July 17 – In 2018 when Insideworldfootball and Rex Sport hosted their Tackling Match-fixing conference in London a number of panellists made the point that betting related match manipulation was the playground of major organised crime gangs.
Match-fixing: Armenia suspends whole second tier, bans 45, disqualifies five clubs
July 8 – Football authorities in Armenia have suspended their entire second tier and handed out 45 lifetime bans after one of the biggest match-fixing episodes of recent years in Europe.
Brazilian ‘ghost’ game offered on 200 betting markets worldwide
May 20 – The integrity of a match reportedly played between two Brazilian clubs on March 25, and which was offered on the betting markets attracting a reported £1.4 million in wagers, is being investigated.
Former club officials and players at Osasuna and Real Betis jailed for matchfixing
April 24 – In a landmark ruling, nine former executives, players, and businessmen including five former directors of Osasuna and two ex-Real Betis players have been handed prison sentences after being found guilty of being involved in match-fixing – the first time ever that sporting corruption has led to jail terms in Spain.
Former Man City star Etuhu loses appeal against ban for attempted match-fixing
April 17 – Former Nigerian international Dickson Etuhu (pictured), who played for a raft English teams including Manchester City, has been banned from football in Sweden, where he last competed, for five years for attempted match-fixing.
UEFA issues match fixing warning as fixers adapt to Covid-19 restrictions
April 6 – UEFA has issued an intelligence alert to its federations warning that match-fixers are quickly adapting to Covid-19 restrictions, despite the bulk of leagues and games across Europe having been shut down.
Ukraine ‘ghost’ games fool bookies and punters as criminals pull off perfect crime
By Paul Nicholson
March 31 – The coronavirus lockdown has not stopped football-related betting fraud with the re-emergence last weekend of so-called ‘ghost’ games in Ukraine.
AFC give life bans to two Laos players for match-fixing
February 26 – Two Laos internationals have been handed life bans for alleged match-fixing by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Match-fixing: FIFA probe Myanmar World Cup qualifiers
February 18 – FIFA is investigating suspected match-fixing in Myanmar’s 7-0 defeat in a World Cup qualifier last year.