Latvian club Daugava Daugavpils investigated over match-fixing

BERNE (Reuters) - Latvian club Daugava Daugavpils are being investigated for match-fixing over their 7-1 defeat to Elfsborg in a qualifying match for last season's Champions League, European football's governing body UEFA said on Friday.





UEFA said that club members had been arrested on Wednesday and that it would launch "the appropriate disciplinary proceedings against the club, Daugava Daugavpils, and the club president, as well as the players concerned" after collecting evidence.

Latvian police chief Andrejs Grisins told a news conference in Riga that eight people had been detained, including two club officials, two players and four people involved in the organisation of the match-fixing.

"Thanks to the UEFA Betting Fraud Detection System, which annually monitors over 32,000 matches in Europe, irregular betting patterns were reported around the Latvian club's game against the Swedish side IF Elfsborg on 17 July 2013," said UEFA.

"This prompted the launch of an investigation, conducted by UEFA in close cooperation with the Latvian Football Federation (LFF) and Latvian authorities, into the match in question."

"The Latvian law enforcement authorities consequently started criminal investigations that led to Wednesday's arrests."

Daugava, who won the Latvian league for the first time in 2012, conceded five goals in the last half hour on their way to the defeat against Elfsborg in the second qualifying round, first leg tie. They lost the second leg 4-0.

"UEFA is very pleased with the excellent cooperation of the LFF and the Latvian law enforcement authorities during the entire investigation process, and wishes to convey its sincere thanks to all those involved in the swift handling of the case," said UEFA.

Latvian law was changed earlier this year so that organisers of match-fixing could be held criminally responsible.





(Additional reporting by Aija Krutaine in Riga; editing by Martyn Herman)


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