2014 World Cup may be target of match-fixing after arrest of six people amid fresh allegations
Former Portsmouth player Sam Sodje is implicated in probe after NCA acted on information from Sun on Sunday tabloid involving second-tier Championship matches
Six people have been arrested following fresh allegations of match-fixing in English soccer, authorities said, with media reports suggesting that even next year’s World Cup could be a target.
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 that he had arranged for a player in the second-tier Championship to get themselves a yellow card in return for £30,000 (HK$380,000).
If these serious allegations are true then we are extremely shocked and saddened
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 this year.
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.