The detective in charge of Sweden’s match-fixing investigation "believes criminal networks are using agents to put pressure on players to fix games," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. A former Premier League player is reportedly at the center of an investigation "into match-fixing in Sweden's top division." Fredrik Gardare, the detective chief inspector who is leading the Swedish police investigation into organized crime, said that "the money in football was attracting criminals." He said, "Football involves a lot of money and the fees paid to these agents have increased, and that has attracted individuals with whom police are already well familiar. The ones that do the match-fixing are separate networks but they have contact with each other. It’s reasonable to think that if you already have something on a player or a manager you can make use of that for match-fixing." The former Premier League player was voluntarily interviewed by Swedish police after an AIK vs. Gothenburg match "was called off in May following an attempt to make the AIK goalkeeper, Kenny Stamatopoulos, underperform." The investigation is "in its final phase," according to Gardare, and prosecutors are expected to announce a decision on any charges within the next four weeks (LONDON TIMES, 10/11).
