Match-fixing discovered in more than 45 UEFA countries, says security firm

Sportradar Security Services, which employs 35 highly experienced staff and monitors bookmaking activities across the entire industry, has provided alarming new statistics that expose the true extent of a crisis regarded by FIFA and UEFA as currently the gravest issue to attack football.

Last month, following a wide-ranging investigation, the European police agency Europol revealed startling occurrences of match-fixing with 680 games globally deemed suspicious, 380 of which were in Europe.

But InsideWorldFootball has been told this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“We uncover between 250 and 300 matches a year that are fixed,” said Ben Paterson, integrity manager at Sportradar Security Services. “Out of 53 UEFA member countries, we have seen problems in upwards of 45 of them in varying degrees.”

Sportradar Security Services, an offshoot of Swiss-based parent company Sportradar, monitors around 350 of the world’s biggest bookmakers, including those offshore. It detects and indentifies potential fixed matches for a raft of clients, including UEFA, CONCACAF, the Bundesliga and English and Scottish football .

In Europe, where the company specialises, it scrutinises the top two leagues in every country along with the main cup competition – a total of around 32,000 games – while in certain specific countries the lower leagues are also monitored for suspicious betting patterns.

With south-east Asia widely regarded to be at the root of the match-fixing scourge, Paterson’s company recently set up an operation in Hong Kong to enhance identification of rigged games. The company’s fraud detection system throws up alerts whenever there are significant odds movements.

Although Paterson, who has a career-long background in the betting industry, won’t reveal details of which recent cases his company has been responsible for flagging up, it is believed they have been involved in some way with virtually every major match-fixing investigation in Europe, including the ongoing scandal in Italy which exposed a raft of high-ranking players and officials.

It is also understood Sportradar Security Services were responsible in identifying the recently reported suspicious patterns in English non-league football and bringing it to the attention of the Football Association.

“The majority of matches that are fixed go through the Asian markets,” said Paterson. “There is so much money there and the odds are so competitive that match fixers can bet vast sums anonymously. We highlight to the relevant people that such and such a match is suspicious, and wherever possible also highlight individuals.”

While sports authorities across the globe are stepping up their attempts to reduce match-fixing – supported by the growing influence of the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security – Paterson, whose company is at the coal-face of the problem, believes this form of corruption may never be wiped out for good.

“I don’t think you will ever eradicate match fixing entirely,” said Paterson. “But measures are being taken. We are much more aware of the individuals behind this and have a better grasp of how they operate.  But the problem is so big – you are talking about a $1bn industry – that you need governments and football authorities to tackle this together. There has to be European legislation so that that penalties for match-fixing cut across every country. It’s not pie in the sky to conclude that if this carries on, people won’t go to watch games any longer.”

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