Post by Finnish Gas on Jun 6, 2014 18:31:16 GMT
Big odds changes led to fixing claim for Cambridge United match at Forest Green Rovers, say Federbet
Written byAARON MASON
The body behind a report into match-fixing explained “huge movement” in odds made them suspect Cambridge United’s game away to Forest Green last season was rigged.
United’s 3-2 defeat to Rovers in March was one of 11 English games in 2013/14 that Federbet, a Europe-wide organisation monitoring suspicious betting activity, named in their report, presented to the European Parliament this week, as being fixed.
Francesco Baranca, general secretary of the Brussels-based association, told the News drastic changes in odds in the build-up to the Skrill Premier game led Federbet to believe it was subject to betting fraud.
He said: “I remember quite well this match because there was huge movement in the win for Forest Green.
“What’s more crazy about this match was the odds at half time and full time with Cambridge to win the first half and Forest Green to win the match, there was a big difference.
“To have that movement is something that would have to be explained because I don’t know how it’s possible that the odds can move in such a big way.
“The first half wasn’t finished as it was supposed to finish.
“The odds can move any time, but it’s dangerous when they move like this so close to a match because it means someone is trying to do something.
“I’m not saying the teams of Cambridge or Forest Green were guilty, but I’m just saying that in this case the movement was absolutely strange and a lot of money without logic was interested in this match.”
But United chairman Dave Doggett said he was shocked to see the club featured in the report in the News yesterday and his counterpart at Forest Green, Dale Vince, is equally surprised his club was being linked to match-fixing.
Vince said: “It’s the first we’ve heard of any suspicion about our match with Cambridge, or any FGR match.
“Match-fixing is about losing games not winning them, which all teams normally seek to do – so this can’t involve FGR, we won that game.
“And I remember that game – it was a very good match, there’s no way Cambridge threw it, and I can’t believe that anyone who saw the game would think so.
“It may have been an unexpected result for the bookies, but that’s all it was.”
The Football Conference insisted on Wednesday there was no evidence to suggest any of their 10 fixtures named in the report were rigged while the European Sports Security Association, an organisation representing the integrity interests of many of the continent’s major bookmakers, have since raised doubts over the validity of Federbet’s investigation.
ESSA secretary general Khalid Ali said: “ESSA members employ sophisticated internal security mechanisms to identify suspicious betting patterns and which importantly includes essential transactional data on who is betting on what, where and when, whereas Federbet appears to be primarily using betting odds movements as the principal means of detecting match-fixing.
“That approach is not conclusive and prone to false results.
“It is also important to remember that betting irregularities do not necessarily equate to corruption.
“ESSA’s latest figures list 148 alerts, which after detailed examination led to 30 suspicious cases.
“Furthermore, establishing corruption is a multi-sector partnership activity involving a widely understood protocol with sporting bodies and regulatory authorities which Federbet is ignoring.
“Only in co-operation with those other stakeholders can full and proper investigations take place which can then determine whether corruption has occurred.
“ESSA has information-sharing agreements with over 20 major sports bodies, such as Fifa and the IOC, as well as a number of national gambling regulators.
“This partnership approach has been particularly successful in driving the corruptors away from regulated markets, creating a safe and secure environment for customers.”
But Baranca defended Federbet’s approach, adding: “I won’t make polemic with ESSA, our job is to solve the problem.
“We’re waiting for someone to contact us and we can share our information with the police or with the leagues and co-operate with them in any way.”
Read more: www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Sport/Cambridge-United/Big-odds-changes-led-to-fixing-claim-for-Cambridge-United-match-at-Forest-Green-Rovers-say-Federbet-20140606070300.htm
Written byAARON MASON
The body behind a report into match-fixing explained “huge movement” in odds made them suspect Cambridge United’s game away to Forest Green last season was rigged.
United’s 3-2 defeat to Rovers in March was one of 11 English games in 2013/14 that Federbet, a Europe-wide organisation monitoring suspicious betting activity, named in their report, presented to the European Parliament this week, as being fixed.
Francesco Baranca, general secretary of the Brussels-based association, told the News drastic changes in odds in the build-up to the Skrill Premier game led Federbet to believe it was subject to betting fraud.
He said: “I remember quite well this match because there was huge movement in the win for Forest Green.
“What’s more crazy about this match was the odds at half time and full time with Cambridge to win the first half and Forest Green to win the match, there was a big difference.
“To have that movement is something that would have to be explained because I don’t know how it’s possible that the odds can move in such a big way.
“The first half wasn’t finished as it was supposed to finish.
“The odds can move any time, but it’s dangerous when they move like this so close to a match because it means someone is trying to do something.
“I’m not saying the teams of Cambridge or Forest Green were guilty, but I’m just saying that in this case the movement was absolutely strange and a lot of money without logic was interested in this match.”
But United chairman Dave Doggett said he was shocked to see the club featured in the report in the News yesterday and his counterpart at Forest Green, Dale Vince, is equally surprised his club was being linked to match-fixing.
Vince said: “It’s the first we’ve heard of any suspicion about our match with Cambridge, or any FGR match.
“Match-fixing is about losing games not winning them, which all teams normally seek to do – so this can’t involve FGR, we won that game.
“And I remember that game – it was a very good match, there’s no way Cambridge threw it, and I can’t believe that anyone who saw the game would think so.
“It may have been an unexpected result for the bookies, but that’s all it was.”
The Football Conference insisted on Wednesday there was no evidence to suggest any of their 10 fixtures named in the report were rigged while the European Sports Security Association, an organisation representing the integrity interests of many of the continent’s major bookmakers, have since raised doubts over the validity of Federbet’s investigation.
ESSA secretary general Khalid Ali said: “ESSA members employ sophisticated internal security mechanisms to identify suspicious betting patterns and which importantly includes essential transactional data on who is betting on what, where and when, whereas Federbet appears to be primarily using betting odds movements as the principal means of detecting match-fixing.
“That approach is not conclusive and prone to false results.
“It is also important to remember that betting irregularities do not necessarily equate to corruption.
“ESSA’s latest figures list 148 alerts, which after detailed examination led to 30 suspicious cases.
“Furthermore, establishing corruption is a multi-sector partnership activity involving a widely understood protocol with sporting bodies and regulatory authorities which Federbet is ignoring.
“Only in co-operation with those other stakeholders can full and proper investigations take place which can then determine whether corruption has occurred.
“ESSA has information-sharing agreements with over 20 major sports bodies, such as Fifa and the IOC, as well as a number of national gambling regulators.
“This partnership approach has been particularly successful in driving the corruptors away from regulated markets, creating a safe and secure environment for customers.”
But Baranca defended Federbet’s approach, adding: “I won’t make polemic with ESSA, our job is to solve the problem.
“We’re waiting for someone to contact us and we can share our information with the police or with the leagues and co-operate with them in any way.”
Read more: www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Sport/Cambridge-United/Big-odds-changes-led-to-fixing-claim-for-Cambridge-United-match-at-Forest-Green-Rovers-say-Federbet-20140606070300.htm
