Dutch football alleges first case of attempted match-fixing

Attempts to fix the result of a Dutch league match seven years ago have been uncovered by a Dutch football association (KNVB) investigation, the first time for such a case in the Netherlands.

As reported in the Guardian, the investigation has uncovered a bid by Ibrahim Kargbo, then a player at Willem II Tilburg, to fix the outcome of a league match against FC Utrecht in August 2009 with Wilson Raj Perumal, a Singaporean who has been convicted of fraud on numerous occasions.

The KNVB said Kargbo had promised that captain Michael Aerts and a third unidentified player would work together with him to throw the match against Utrecht in return for €25,000 each. Yet, although Utrecht won the match 1-0, Perumal, who has already been prosecuted and jailed in other countries for match-fixing, refused to pay saying the agreement had been for a win by more than a single goal.

Gijs de Jong, Operation Director for KNVB, said: “Dutch football is one of the last in Europe to lose its innocence in this matter. We have long warned this could happen in the Dutch league but it is still difficult to swallow now that this has been established. Hopefully it will add urgency in the Netherlands to the fight against this plague.

The KNVB statement confirmed that Kargbo, who last played at English non-league club Thamesmead Town, would not be allowed to participate in any capacity in Dutch football in the future. He has already been suspended in Sierra Leone for alleged match-fixing. Meanwhile Perumal, 50, has featured in cases involving more than 100 manipulated matches around the world and been jailed in Finland and Hungary.

To learn more about tackling corruption and discuss the latest developments in integrity monitoring, click here and register for Betting on Football 2016 at Stamford Bridge, Thursday April 21^st.