A friendly international football match played in the UAE is at the centre of a new match-fixing investigation, FIFA has revealed.
FIFA said it believes the match held in Sharjah between Kuwait and Jordan is part of a wider match-fixing scandal that stretches from Finland to the Far East, Associated Press reported.
Tipped off on alleged plans to manipulate the March 26 match, FIFA sent investigators to the stadium in Sharjah, AP added.
FIFA says the game bore all the hallmarks of suspicious matches in Turkey and elsewhere when local referees were replaced by foreigners and the match ended in a 1-1 draw with both goals coming from penalties.
According to FIFA, online gambling sites were abuzz with action from the match which prompted FIFA investigators to reveal their presence to organisers at halftime, putting a stop to the match-fixing scheme.
“There were the same indicators that show a consistent methodology of arranging and conducting the match,” Chris Eaton, FIFA’s head of security, told AP.
“There were no media agreements, no streaming of the match, no spectators and mostly cash transactions. The referees came at the last minute,” he told the newswire.
The March match in Sharjah was part of a tournament that also included Iraq and North Korea.
The UAE investigation comes as FIFA said it was investigating presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam for alleged bribery in his election campaign.
FIFA is also investigating claims of corruption related to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups bids, as well as alleged match fixing in various parts of the world.
“FIFA’s responsibility is to prevent these things happening and to protect the integrity of the game, and protect the players and officials from the criminals who fix matches,” Eaton said. “Often, we can’t afford to wait for the time it takes for a criminal prosecution to go through before we take action.”
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