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Two qualifying matches from the first round of the UEFA Europa Conference League have been flagged to the relevant integrity and governing bodies on suspicion of match-fixing and suspicious betting activity.
The first match saw Armenia’s Alashkert win 6-1 over Montenegro’s Arsenal Tivat, which beat the team 7-2 on aggregate.
The second match, Latvia’s RFS 4-1 win over North Macedonia’s Makedonija GP marked a 5-1 total on aggregate.
Both of these matches were played on the same day, 20 July, and were found to contain suspicious betting patterns.
While there is no suggestion at the time of writing that any particular person involved could be complicit, the betting patterns can be flagged by an individual, team or match official.
In a statement, the UEFA said: “In line with its long-standing practice, UEFA refrains from commenting on investigations or even the existence of potential investigations into alleged match-fixing so as not to compromise investigation processes.
“With regards to anti-match-fixing activities at national level, UEFA provides a wide range of expertise to its national associations and, in particular, to its network of Integrity Officers appointed in each national association.”
Since the matches were flagged, both RFS and Alashkert have been suspended from the tournament.
In response to the allegations, Latvian RFS said: “Our club always sets only the highest standards on the pitch and also outside the pitch.
“Integrity principles are the essence of football. We always prove everything on the field.
“The two matches against Makedonija, which we won and went to the next round, were no exception from our side. This is all we can comment.”
In its Q2 2023 report, IBIA found that Europe was responsible for 34 out of the 50 suspicious alerts reported.
