UEFA investigates irregular betting

European soccer’s governing body said that the unit would be fully operational from next season and feature experts reviewing suspected irregularities from matches throughout the continent.

’There is a danger within our game but we will not let irregular betting patterns or corruption affect the outcome of matches,” said David Taylor, Secretary General for UEFA. Taylor was speaking late last week following the conclusion of a two-day meeting of UEFA’s Executive Committee in Bordeaux, France, and revealed that the special unit would work in close cooperation with governments and police.

“We will start recruiting immediately,” said Gianni Infantino, Legal Affairs Director for UEFA. “We need additional expertise. We have to set up the necessary tools to fight against this.”

Infantino revealed that UEFA had begun reviewing ten matches from the current season and 15 from last season, all from preliminary rounds of the UEFA Cup. He revealed that these games could have been affected by irregular betting, a growing problem in soccer and other sports such as tennis. “Sports governing bodies reach some limits in this matter and need full support from authorities who have access to information they don’t have,” said Infantino.