January 21 – The Dutch football association (KNVB) is opening an investigation and calling for a criminal probe into detailed allegations published of alleged fixing of two matches in the top-tier Eredivisie.
Two matches involving Willem II of Tilburg were apparently rigged during the 2009-10 season by players allegedly paid by a Singaporean syndicate, according to a report in the De Volkskrant newspaper.
The paper identified former Willem II and Sierra Leone midfielder Ibrahim Kargbo (pictured) as the ringleader. The KNVB described investigation as “the most concrete case yet in the Netherlands” of alleged matchfixing.
As well as handing the case to criminal investigators, the association says it will carry out its own probe by interviewing players, referees and club officials and analysing video of the matches concerned. “We will do everything in our power to get to the bottom of this,” the association said on its website.
According to De Volkskrant, the two games were against Dutch giants Ajax and Feyenoord and were fixed during the 2009-2010 season with the players involved paid 100,000 euros.
Kargbo, who is alleged to have persuaded other players to work with him, denies the accusations. But the former Sierra Leone skipper was suspended last year from international duty by his own country’s football authorities, along with three other players, over separate alleged attempts to fix a June 2008 qualifier against South Africa.
Willem II, which lost both games, said they were shocked by the reports and pledged to cooperate fully with investigations while Sierra Leone football federation president Isha Johansen described Kargbo’s alleged involvement as “an embarrassment” but welcomed moves to clean up matchfixing.
Johansen is endeavouring to root out corruption in the game by officials opposed to her regime but is accused by rebels trying to force her of office of conducting a witch hunt.
“These allegations in the Netherlands show that there are grounds for believing Sierra Leone players and football administrators have been involved in match manipulation and that our FA was in no way involved in a witch hunt,” she told Insideworldfootball. “We look forward to starting our own investigation.”
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