Former Fifa security chief Chris Eaton has called for a “swift and strong” international investigation into allegations of match fixing by Cameroon players that strike at the heart of the integrity of the World Cup.
While international friendly matches have been proved to have been rigged as the scale of match fixing activity by gangs operating in eastern Europe and the Far East became clear, this is the first credible claim that a World Cup match has been fixed for money.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter said he was aware of the allegations made by convicted match fixer Wilson Raj Perumal, who correctly predicted the result of Cameroon’s 4-0 defeat to Croatia and the fact a player would be sent off in a Facebook conversation with a Der Spiegel jounalist. Alex Song received his marching orders before half time for a needless elbow in the back of Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic near the halfway line. The game was also marred by an incident near the end when Benoit Assou-Ekotto attempted to head-butt team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo. There is no suggestion that the trio were involved in any wrongdoing.
Eato said that if it could be proved the conversation took place before the game then the allegations should be taken with the utmost seriousness. The Cameroon FA said it had launched its own investigation into the “allegations of fraud” around its three group stage matches and the claim that there were “seven bad apples” in the team.
Fifa refused to confirm whether it had launched its own investigation but is highly likely to have done so.
“The Cameroon match-fixing case is a grave allegation with an alleged and strong indication of pre-match knowledge from a well-known match-fixer,” said Eaton, who is now director of the Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security.
- See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/worldcup/worldcup-news/215-fifa-urged-to-take-swift-and-strong-action-over-cameroon-fixing-claims.html#sthash.CJbL2uvD.dpuf
Former FIFA Security Chief Chris Eaton called for a "swift and strong" int'l investigation into allegations of match-fixing by Cameroon players that "strike at the heart of the integrity of the World Cup," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. While int'l friendly matches have been proved to have been rigged as the scale of match-fixing activity by gangs cooperating in eastern Europe and the Far East became clear, "this is the first credible claim that a World Cup match had been fixed for money." FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that "he was aware of the allegations made by the convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal, who correctly predicted Cameroon's 4-0 defeat to Croatia and the fact a player would be sent off in a Facebook conversation with a Der Spiegel journalist." Alex Song "was dismissed before half-time for a needless elbow in the back of Coatia's Mario Mandzukic near the halfway line." The game was also "marred by an incident near the end when Benoit Assou-Ekotto attempted to head-butt a team-mate, Benjamin Moukandjo." There "is no suggestion that the trio were involved in any wrongdoing." FIFA "refused to confirm whether it had launched its own investigation but the world game's ruling body is highly likely to have done so." Eaton said, "The Cameroon match-fixing case is a grave allegation with an alleged and strong indication of pre-match knowledge from a well-known match-fixer" (
GUARDIAN, 7/1). Cameroon's football federation (Fecafoot) said in a statement, "We are strongly committed to employ all means necessary to resolve this disruptive matter in the shortest delays. In the meantime we legitimately request that any related information, unless brought before our federation and/or its Ethics Committee, be held for or treated as mere assumption." Fecafoot launched an investigation but has "not yet reported the outcome of that investigation." A source close to the Cameroon squad said, "Alex Song has no knowledge whatsoever of any incident involving match-fixing" (
TELEGRAPH, 7/1).
PERUMAL DENIES CLAIM: In London, Ben Rumsby reported in a statement, Perumal "confirmed he told a German journalist that he believed there were 'seven rotten apples' in the Cameroon team who were 'on the take' and 'fixed all three matches' against Brazil, Croatia and Mexico." But the man "who claims to have helped two countries qualify for the 2010 World Cup by fixing their games and who attempted to rig Premier League matches categorically denied predicting the 4-0 scoreline of the Croatia-Cameroon contest before it was played" (TELEGRAPH, 7/1). The LONDON TIMES reported "the squad's journey to the World Cup had been delayed for almost a day before a financial package was eventually agreed with Cameroon's football federation." Cameroon "began the tournament with a 1-0 defeat by Mexico before losing to Croatia." They "were beaten by Brazil in their final group game" (LONDON TIMES, 7/1).
