The Fix is In: 8-0 is Quite a Dive

In addition to those Euro 2008 qualifiers that are under investigation for match-fixing, UEFA are also reported to have been contacted by Europol about 26 matches in Champions League, UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup, all played since 2005.

Though nothing official has been released about which matches are being examined (And shut up, Milan didn’t throw that final in Istanbul. It was an entirely honest collapse.), a German newspaper claims to have gotten its hands on some information, and reported today that among those under investigation is Liverpool’s record-setting 8-0 thrashing of Besiktas. What, 5-0 wasn’t enough?

According to the article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the match is suspicious not because of the Turkish club’s collapse, but rather because of a late influx of bets that the match would end with the correct scoreline. Um, yeah. You can see how that would ping some law enforcement alarms, huh? But, for the love of god, what betting syndicate worth its salt fixes a match at 8-0 and then tells people to bet that scoreline?! That’s practically writing a letter to Europol, explaining to them what’s going on.

For the record, Liverpool say they’ve not been contacted about any such investigation (and the reports contain no suggestion they’ve done anything wrong), and UEFA themselves are understandable refusing to talk about the specifics of what they’re up to, but claim there’s only one match being “officially investigated,” and it was in the Intertoto Cup.

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Category: Champions League, Europe, World Football