FIFA to investigate Argentina match - Match fixing?

[Eagle Winged]

"Spot fix" is what immediately went through my head when Argentina were rewarded that ridiculous penalty. It was so ludicrous it was surreal.

And it seems my suspicions weren't without merit:

Fifa investigating unusual betting patterns in international between Nigeria and Argentina

Fifa is investigating a match between Nigeria and Argentina on Wednesday night, which Nigeria won 4-1, after unusual betting patterns indicated it had been targeted by match-fixers.

A Fifa spokesman said: “Fifa can confirm that this match between Nigeria and Argentina was one that we had an active interest in, and forms part of a wider ongoing Fifa investigation.".

The revelation that such a high-profile game is under suspicion underlines the warnings about the speed with which match-fixing is spreading through world football.

Sepp Blatter, re-elected last week as Fifa president, has pledged a “zero-tolerance” approach to what he called the “plague” of match-fixing.

Six players from Premier League clubs were involved in the fixture as well as players from the top divisions in Italy, Spain and Holland.

Argentina, captained by Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta, took an under-strength team to Abuja for Wednesday’s friendly, as part of their preparation for the Copa America and were beaten 4-1.

Victor Obinna, recently of West Ham, was among the Nigerian goal-scorers.

John Obi Mikel, of Chelsea, and Everton's Victor Anichebe were also part of the Nigeria squad. Mauro Boselli (Wigan), Mauro Formica (Blackburn) and Damián Martínez (Arsenal) were in the Argentina squad. It is understood that no players are under suspicion.

Serious concerns, though, were raised about betting patterns during the game, specifically before the final goal was scored.

With Nigeria leading 4-0 there was a huge swing on some in-play gambling markets which appeared to anticipate a fifth goal.

With 90 minutes played referee Ibrahim Chaibou awarded five minutes of stoppage time but let play carry on until, in the eighth minute of additional play, he signalled a handball against Nigeria, awarding a penalty to Argentina.

Replays indicated the ball had hit one Nigerian player’s shin and diverted to another player, whom it hit in the stomach. The whistle appears to have been blown immediately after the ball hit the first player. Mauro Boselli, of Wigan, converted the penalty.

“There had been some crazy moves on the in-running market early in the game,” said Matthew Benham of SmartOdds, an online betting firm.

“With 86 minutes played the odds for 4.50 [a fifth goal to be scored] were absolutely insane.

"The market was effectively saying it was odds against that there would be no more goals.

"It is hard to get an exact figure for how much would have been bet to force that kind of swing but we are certainly talking hundreds of thousands, possibly more than £1,000,000.”

Fifa is assembling as much data as it can about the game and confirmed that it “will be working closely with colleagues at the Fifa Early Warning System” to see the unusual fluctuations in betting patterns and how they tally with its wider investigation.

The referee involved, Chaibou, of Niger, was in charge of the Sept 7 friendly between Bahrain and a ‘fake’ Togo team, another game under Fifa investigation.

That match was organised by Wilson Raj Perumal, a convicted match-fixer who is facing trial in a Lapland court after being charged with bribing players to fix games in the Finnish league. Telegraph Sport attempted to contact Chaibou last night but calls were not returned.

Telegraph Sport revealed last month that Perumal had been operating from a London flat near Wembley Stadium after skipping bail in Singapore. He has 13 convictions, for forgery, burglary, assault and match-fixing dating back to 1983. He was arrested in Finland in February.

“Fifa is currently receiving lots of information and co-operation across Europe, Asia, Africa and South and Central America, and as an organisation we are committed to tackling this problem in the most vigorous way possible,” said a Fifa spokesman.

“This can be best demonstrated by the recent announcement last month by the Fifa president that Fifa will donate $20 million over the next 10 years to Interpol as part of an unprecedented initiative target illegal and irregular betting and match-fixing.”

Fresh revelations about alleged match-fixing are breaking by the day.

In Italy, following a six-month investigation, 16 people have been arrested by Cremona police on suspicion of match-fixing, including former international Beppe Signori. It is alleged players had their drinks spiked to inhibit their performance as the betting ring staked hundreds of thousands of euros on games in Italy’s top three divisions.

And in Korea, six players and two bookmakers have been arrested on suspicion of match-fixing in the K-League, the oldest professional football league in Asia. Another player implicated in the scandal was found dead last week.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... ntina.html

[Scipio Africanus]

i knew it! I f**king knew it. Did these guys really think this would not raise suspicions? 5 mins of injury time in a friendly game, and then playing to 8 mins, then giving a blatantly fake PK. Stupid ref. I hope they nail his skinny stank azz to the wall.

[balo]

If true, that ref needs to be banned for life. He can go get other jobs.

[mystic]

Wouldn't be surprised. That ref was definately up to something.

[Orion]

The ref needs to get banned for life. Our players weren't part of this as they did absolutely nothing to cause a penalty (which would have been so simple) and all looked very surprised and bemused when the fake penalty was awarded.

[StrikerC]

i knew it! I f**king knew it. Did these guys really think this would not raise suspicions? 5 mins of injury time in a friendly game, and then playing to 8 mins, then giving a blatantly fake PK. Stupid ref. I hope they nail his skinny stank azz to the wall.

But if he's found guilty isn't that going to affect the match in FIFA's records?
Since that game was a FIFA A friendly and sanctioned by FIFA i will think that if anybody involved in that match is found guilty it may affect how FIFA views the result or they might erase it from their records all together. Just Wondering.

There may be possible implication for Naija, No?

[okidoki]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... tina.html?


Fifa investigating unusual betting patterns in international between Nigeria and Argentina
Fifa is investigating a match between Nigeria and Argentina on Wednesday night, which Nigeria won 4-1, after unusual betting patterns indicated it had been targeted by match-fixers.

A Fifa spokesman said: “Fifa can confirm that this match between Nigeria and Argentina was one that we had an active interest in, and forms part of a wider ongoing Fifa investigation.".
The revelation that such a high-profile game is under suspicion underlines the warnings about the speed with which match-fixing is spreading through world football.
Sepp Blatter, re-elected last week as Fifa president, has pledged a “zero-tolerance” approach to what he called the “plague” of match-fixing.
Six players from Premier League clubs were involved in the fixture as well as players from the top divisions in Italy, Spain and Holland.
Argentina, captained by Manchester City’s Pablo Zabaleta, took an under-strength team to Abuja for Wednesday’s friendly, as part of their preparation for the Copa America and were beaten 4-1.
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Victor Obinna, recently of West Ham, was among the Nigerian goal-scorers.
John Obi Mikel, of Chelsea, and Everton's Victor Anichebe were also part of the Nigeria squad. Mauro Boselli (Wigan), Mauro Formica (Blackburn) and Damián Martínez (Arsenal) were in the Argentina squad. It is understood that no players are under suspicion.
Serious concerns, though, were raised about betting patterns during the game, specifically before the final goal was scored.
With Nigeria leading 4-0 there was a huge swing on some in-play gambling markets which appeared to anticipate a fifth goal.
With 90 minutes played referee Ibrahim Chaibou awarded five minutes of stoppage time but let play carry on until, in the eighth minute of additional play, he signalled a handball against Nigeria, awarding a penalty to Argentina.
Replays indicated the ball had hit one Nigerian player’s shin and diverted to another player, whom it hit in the stomach. The whistle appears to have been blown immediately after the ball hit the first player. Mauro Boselli, of Wigan, converted the penalty.
“There had been some crazy moves on the in-running market early in the game,” said Matthew Benham of SmartOdds, an online betting firm.
“With 86 minutes played the odds for 4.50 [a fifth goal to be scored] were absolutely insane.
"The market was effectively saying it was odds against that there would be no more goals.
"It is hard to get an exact figure for how much would have been bet to force that kind of swing but we are certainly talking hundreds of thousands, possibly more than £1,000,000.”
Fifa is assembling as much data as it can about the game and confirmed that it “will be working closely with colleagues at the Fifa Early Warning System” to see the unusual fluctuations in betting patterns and how they tally with its wider investigation.
The referee involved, Chaibou, of Niger, was in charge of the Sept 7 friendly between Bahrain and a ‘fake’ Togo team, another game under Fifa investigation.
That match was organised by Wilson Raj Perumal, a convicted match-fixer who is facing trial in a Lapland court after being charged with bribing players to fix games in the Finnish league. Telegraph Sport attempted to contact Chaibou last night but calls were not returned.
Telegraph Sport revealed last month that Perumal had been operating from a London flat near Wembley Stadium after skipping bail in Singapore. He has 13 convictions, for forgery, burglary, assault and match-fixing dating back to 1983. He was arrested in Finland in February.
“Fifa is currently receiving lots of information and co-operation across Europe, Asia, Africa and South and Central America, and as an organisation we are committed to tackling this problem in the most vigorous way possible,” said a Fifa spokesman.
“This can be best demonstrated by the recent announcement last month by the Fifa president that Fifa will donate $20 million over the next 10 years to Interpol as part of an unprecedented initiative target illegal and irregular betting and match-fixing.”
Fresh revelations about alleged match-fixing are breaking by the day.
In Italy, following a six-month investigation, 16 people have been arrested by Cremona police on suspicion of match-fixing, including former international Beppe Signori. It is alleged players had their drinks spiked to inhibit their performance as the betting ring staked hundreds of thousands of euros on games in Italy’s top three divisions.
And in Korea, six players and two bookmakers have been arrested on suspicion of match-fixing in the K-League, the oldest professional football league in Asia. Another player implicated in the scandal was found dead last week.
Why can't we enjoy this victory in peace.

[StrikerC]

Dude, did you have to post this again?

[Orion]

i knew it! I f**king knew it. Did these guys really think this would not raise suspicions? 5 mins of injury time in a friendly game, and then playing to 8 mins, then giving a blatantly fake PK. Stupid ref. I hope they nail his skinny stank azz to the wall.

But if he's found guilty isn't that going to affect the match in FIFA's records?
Since that game was a FIFA A friendly and sanctioned by FIFA i will think that if anybody involved in that match is found guilty it may affect how FIFA views the result or they might erase it from their records all together. Just Wondering.

There may be possible implication for Naija, No?

Don't see how it can have implications for us. If there was match fixing certainly our players and coaches had nothing to do with it. From the article the betting seemed to be on the 5th goal. We did not make too much effort to score a 5th goal and did not give away a goal which could have been so easy to do if we were in on it.

The ref needs to be investigated here.

[StrikerC]

i knew it! I f**king knew it. Did these guys really think this would not raise suspicions? 5 mins of injury time in a friendly game, and then playing to 8 mins, then giving a blatantly fake PK. Stupid ref. I hope they nail his skinny stank azz to the wall.

But if he's found guilty isn't that going to affect the match in FIFA's records?
Since that game was a FIFA A friendly and sanctioned by FIFA i will think that if anybody involved in that match is found guilty it may affect how FIFA views the result or they might erase it from their records all together. Just Wondering.

There may be possible implication for Naija, No?

Don't see how it can have implications for us. If there was match fixing certainly our players and coaches had nothing to do with it. From the article the betting seemed to be on the 5th goal. We did not make too much effort to score a 5th goal and did not give away a goal which could have been so easy to do if we were in on it.

The ref needs to be investigated here.

My point is i don't necessarily think i want any investigation into this match at all or do i want any part of it.
It's just bad publicity IMO for an outcome that is supposed to do the exact opposite for a nation.

[Orion]

i knew it! I f**king knew it. Did these guys really think this would not raise suspicions? 5 mins of injury time in a friendly game, and then playing to 8 mins, then giving a blatantly fake PK. Stupid ref. I hope they nail his skinny stank azz to the wall.

But if he's found guilty isn't that going to affect the match in FIFA's records?
Since that game was a FIFA A friendly and sanctioned by FIFA i will think that if anybody involved in that match is found guilty it may affect how FIFA views the result or they might erase it from their records all together. Just Wondering.

There may be possible implication for Naija, No?

Don't see how it can have implications for us. If there was match fixing certainly our players and coaches had nothing to do with it. From the article the betting seemed to be on the 5th goal. We did not make too much effort to score a 5th goal and did not give away a goal which could have been so easy to do if we were in on it.

The ref needs to be investigated here.

My point is i don't necessarily think i want any investigation into this match at all or do i want any part of it.
It's just bad publicity IMO for an outcome that is supposed to do the exact opposite for a nation.

I see your point but that ref needs to be stopped. We just can't have a ref like that running amok cheating so blatantly. We were headed for a clean sheet in that game and you have this angel* corrupt ref just arbitrarily awarding a penalty. Would you be comfortable seeing that ref officiating a match involving the SE again?

[Ekorian]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

[bret- hart]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee srcewed up which not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

i hear u but that yeye ref makes Howard Webb look like that that bald italian ref that used to be good. imagine that fool officiating a crucial game between Naija and Cameroon. knowing how Thief Hayatou bought 2 of cameroon's 4 ANC wins, i wont be suprised if he uses that useless ref as a weapon.

[zee]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

Keep on defending the 'criminal' Ref till he is handed the whistle in an ANC-final against Cameroun, maybe then you will understand why it is never good to defend crooks.

[Eagle Winged]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

Your post is almost as ridiculous as the penalty decision.

[wanaj0]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

Trying to understand the role of the referee in the match fixing story. Did they plan that Nigeria will score four goals to start with? At what point did they communicate with the referee to allow a fifth goal?

The referee is useless but talking of betting etc was just another of the UK stories!

Maybe Argentina is hell bent on erasing that score from the history book. In that case, FIFA should convert the scoreline to 4-0

[zee]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

Trying to understand the role of the referee in the match fixing story. Did they plan that Nigeria will score four goals to start with? At what point did they communicate with the referee to allow a fifth goal?

The referee is useless but talking of betting etc was just another of the UK stories!

Maybe Argentina is hell bent on erasing that score from the history book. In that case, FIFA should convert the scoreline to 4-0

There are different bets(up to 100) in a match, I will give a few examples...........

1) 1st throw-in & to which team
2) 1st corner kick & """""""""
3) 1st foul & """""""""
4) 1st team to get a yellow card, red card
5) will there be 2 or more red cards(big odds)
6) which team will score the 1st goal
7) will the 1st goal be scored in the 1st or 2nd half
etc

Now to the main issue at hand, at 0-4(in extratime) and with Nigeria as the better team, the odds for any goal will be high but the odds for the weaker team to score a goal in extra will be massive...................................now the odds for the goal (for this weaker team) coming thru a penalty will be explosive .
Now you know why there was not only a goal for the weaker team but a penalty 'goal'.

Remember it was LIVE BETTING!!!!

[Eagle Winged]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

Trying to understand the role of the referee in the match fixing story. Did they plan that Nigeria will score four goals to start with? At what point did they communicate with the referee to allow a fifth goal?

The referee is useless but talking of betting etc was just another of the UK stories!

Maybe Argentina is hell bent on erasing that score from the history book. In that case, FIFA should convert the scoreline to 4-0

What is hard for you to understand? Try reading the article, it's as clear as day.

Whether Nigeria were 4-0 up or not is IRRELEVANT. It could have been 1-0, 0-0 or whatever else.

[greg]

I don't know why FIFA needs to see irregular betting patterns before choosing to investigate irregular referee behavior. The ref must was clearly paid well enough for all logic to depart his brain like that.

[Undertaker]

Here goes Blatter again trying to divert attention from his corrupted mind and his overbloated egos. The referee screwed up which is not uncommon but linking this Niger referee to some million dollars betting going one elsewhere is just an over kill. How many times has the FIFA indicted the europeans referee for their horrible calls? Guys, If Howard Webb is not serving life sentence right now, then read between the lines and jump off the bandwagon.

Your post is almost as ridiculous as the penalty decision.

You dey mind the guy? Common sense is not that common!

[1naija]

I liked the way Yobo calmed the team after the fictitious penalty was awarded. He is a true captain.

[Damunk]

I liked the way Yobo calmed the team after the fictitious penalty was awarded. He is a true captain.

Yes. You are correct 1Naija. The greatest ever

[zee]

I liked the way Yobo calmed the team after the fictitious penalty was awarded. He is a true captain.

1naija na your biko