FIFA writes to AIFF about match-fixing in Calcutta league

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 7

With less than a month to go for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Indian football has been hit by allegations of match-fixing in a Calcutta Football League match. The sport’s world governing body, FIFA, has written to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), informing it about possible fixing during a match between Tollygunge Aggrgami and Rainbow FC on August 25. Tollygunge won the match 2-1.

The letter was written by the Sportradar Integrity Service (SIS), a match-fixing investigative agency with whom FIFA entered into a formal agreement in February with an objective “to identify and analyse any suspicious betting patterns across a number of international and domestic competitions around the world”.

SIS had prior information that the outcome of the match was fixed and the result would go in Tollygunge’s favour. SIS also told AIFF that an international betting syndicate was allegedly involved in fixing. AIFF officials acknowledged that they received a letter from SIS and have directed the Indian Football Association (IFA) to investigate the charges. “The involvement of an international betting syndicate to influence a match in India is disturbing news,” an official said.

“It would be premature for me to comment (on the investigative part). Let me first get into the details,” IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly said.

Some years ago, FIFA’s integrity unit had raised suspicion of fixing during an I-League match between Dempo and Air India, which the former won by a whopping margin of 8-0. The huge difference in scoreline had prompted FIFA to ask AIFF for an investigation.