According to the Indian Football Federation, multiple players of India’s second-tier football league ‘I-League’ have been approached to fix matches this season. No players or football clubs were named, but it is said that players were asked to change the results of specific football matches.
“We have received information of multiple approaches to our players. We will thoroughly examine the incidents, investigate, and take all necessary action.” These were the words of All-India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey when he addressed the audience in a developing match-fixing story.
Chaubey said that the federation will try to improve its system to counter such threats more efficiently next time. Corrupt activities need to be reported and eliminated on a fast-track basis.
The AIFF set up the anti-corruption unit after a Malaysian betting syndicate attracted Indian players to fix the football league matches a decade ago.
A senior AIFF official said that the current development is a ‘concern’, even saying that a few matches and players raised our doubts regarding the problem.
An I-League club reported in 2018 that several players were told to fix matches through social media messages. According to an AIFF official, “A clearer picture would emerge only after the investigation ends.”
