The Age – Victorian detectives have swooped on a match fixing syndicate operating from Victoria’s Premier League professional soccer division.
Fairfax Media can reveal that international match fixing syndicates run by organised criminals have been fixing soccer matches in Australia, making hundreds of thousands of dollars on Asian betting markets.
An investigation revealed that up to ten European footballers playing professional football in Australia have been recruited by the syndicate.
Some of the players arrested have played professionally in the United Kingdom before coming to Australia.
One avenue of inquiry being probed by police is whether the players were recruited by the syndicate before flying to Australia.
The team at the centre of what looms as the largest match fixing scandal to hit Australian sport is the Southern Stars Football Club, which is based in Melbourne’s south-east.
The team is on the bottom of the Victorian Premier League ladder and has been thrashed on several occasions this year.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been wagered on the outcome of the club’s games, including the number of goals conceded, by the syndicate in collaboration with the allegedly corrupted players.
Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton said that winnings on the bets were about $2 million and the players were alleged to have been paid thousands of dollars for their involvement. He said it was the biggest match fixing scandal in Australian history.
The scandal will put huge pressure on the state and federal government to concede to long-standing police requests for laws to be changes so authorities can share with sporting bodies information about suspected corruption.
Victoria Police’s Purana taskforce, in conjunction with the force’s sports integrity unit, arrested up to ten people across the state today.
