By Mark Baber
September 11 – The Swedish Football Association (SvFF) announced has reported a case of “suspected bribery” to the police in relation to Jonkopings Sodra’s match against Syrianska on August 25 which Jonkoping won 4-0.
Alarm bells rang after the start of the game as large wagers were made on more than 3.5 goals being scored in the game. 10 minutes into the game, before any goals were scored, anti-match fixing organisation Federbet issued a warning and several bookmakers including Unibet stopped taking bets.
Federbet’s General Secretary Francesco Baranca said: “It was shocking. The worst example I’ve seen in many years, so that the odds collapsed. We are fully satisfied.”
After being told of the unusual betting patterns, SvFF reviewed footage of the game. The second goal was an own goal and the third and fourth goals appear to be largely the result of poor defending by the ‘Syrians’.
The Swedish FA said in a statement: “The SvFF is of the opinion that there is reason to believe that bribery may have been committed in connection with the match,”
“The FA sees that no further investigative action by the association can determine if the crime was committed, and the hope is that a preliminary investigation (including the actions the police may take) can clear this up.”
According to the SvFF there is “no reason to believe that someone at Jonkoping Sodra has committed any crime.”
Syrianska is a Syriac Aramaic team, sometimes described as the “national team” of the Arameans who hail from Syria and Iraq, many having fled to the town of Södertälje where Syrianska is based. The club plays in the top tier of the Swedish leagues, the Allsvenskan.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734837445labto1734837445ofdlr1734837445owedi1734837445sni@r1734837445ebab.1734837445kram1734837445