Fears "are growing that Chinese criminals have taken match-fixing to new levels" by buying stakes in European clubs and then organizing "corruption of these teams' fixtures," according to Nick Harris of the London DAILY MAIL. A stake in Athlone Town, a club "under investigation over an allegedly fixed match in the League of Ireland last weekend," has reportedly "been sold to a party ultimately funded by a Beijing-based fixing syndicate." The same group "is understood to have taken interests in lower-league clubs in Portugal, Latvia and Romania, where fixing is also suspected." Athlone is "under investigation by the Irish police," the FA of Ireland and UEFA over its 3-1 loss to Longford Town last weekend. Chinese firms have bought interests in "20 or so clubs" in Europe in recent years, "almost all of them with no hint of controversy" (DAILY MAIL, 5/6). The IRISH INDEPENDENT reported Athlone Town keeper Igor Labuts "strongly denied" any involvement in match-fixing, saying, "I made a mistake on the goal. ... In the second half I made a lot of saves." Labuts said that the club is "going to co-operate with the FAI and he is not involved in throwing the games." He added that he is aware he is "not a top class keeper" (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 5/7).
