UEFA Suspends Soccer Teams amid Irregular Betting Activity

The UEFA has suspended two teams over suspicions of participation in match-fixing. The suspicious activities were identified during two qualifying matches from the first round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Both matches were played on the same day and both were fairly one-sided. In addition to that, authorities noticed irregular betting patterns, causing concerns about possible match-fixing efforts.

The first of the two games in question was between Alashkert and Montenegro’s Arsenal Tivat. The match concluded with a spectacular 6-1 win in favor of Alashkert, which progressed through a 7-2 aggregate scoreline.

The other game saw the Latvian team RFS emerge victorious over Makedonija GP with a 4-1 score, 5-1 on aggregate.

For reference, both games took place on July 20.

The UEFA proceeded to suspend the two winning teams from the tournament.

The UEFA Will Investigate the Matter

Authorities said they’ve identified suspicious betting patterns during both games. The UEFA will investigate the matter and is unlikely to share additional information before the conclusion of its probe.

The league reassured the media that it would work with its integrity officers to solve the matter.

With regards to anti-match-fixing activities at national level, UEFA provides a wide range of expertise to its national associations and, in particular, to its network of Integrity Officers appointed in each national association.

UEFA statement

A representative of RFS released a statement on the matter, claiming that the team was not involved in any suspicious activity whatsoever. They said that the club follows robust integrity standards both on the pitch and outside the pitch.

Integrity principles are the essence of football. We always prove everything on the field. The two matches against Makedonija, which we won and went to the next round, were no exception from our side. This is all we can comment.

RFS representative

IBIA Seeks to Protect the Sector from Fraud

Speaking of integrity, the International Betting Integrity Association recently published its Q2 report, outlining the suspicious cases it identified during the quarter. Soccer and tennis were the two sports with the highest number of such cases, with the former recording 19 cases against the latter sport’s 14 cases.

The IBIA continues to grow its international presence as more and more companies seek to join the war on fraud.

Earlier this month, the Brazilian operator KTO joined the IBIA as one of its latest members, fulfilling its provisional measure requirements. Earlier, the organization was also joined by Galera.bet, another Brazilian company.