LAST WEEKEND the Cyprus Football Federation (KOP) called off a scheduled first division football match between Ermis and Paralimni because of concerns over unusual betting activity. According to reports, the average amount of betting on all the seven first division fixtures is in the region of €150,000, whereas on this match bets worth €80,000 had been placed with just one betting agency. The total amount was much bigger, but other agencies did not provide figures; hundreds of thousands were reportedly waged with betting shops abroad.
The Federation was in a position to take this unprecedented action thanks to an information-sharing agreement it has with Betfair, which notified it about the “excessive betting volumes”. The agreement, which KOP wants to conclude with all local betting agencies, came after allegations of match-fixing related to betting that was being investigated by the European football’s ruling body UEFA. It was the Federation’s idea of taking some action against rumours of match-fixing instigated by organised crime groups.
Commendable as this initiative may have been, underlining the KOP’s commitment to the fight against match-fixing, it nevertheless set a bad precedent. Will it now call off any match that features “excessive betting volumes”, because it was tipped off by a betting company? And if more betting companies sign an information-sharing agreement with the KOP, would the latter call off matches whenever it is tipped off by one of the companies about suspicious betting activity?
This approach does not seem to make much sense, even though both the clubs involved co-operated with KOP which also urged betting companies not to take any bets on Ermis’ matches for the rest of the season. The club, reportedly, did not object to this directive, presumably because it had nothing to lose, but the Federation should not feel content that it has dealt with the suspected betting scam. Banning bets on games involving Ermis solves nothing.
There must be an in-depth investigation of the club, its owners, its management and the players, so that the authorities can establish why Ermis matches attract so much betting money. With its decision the Federation indicated that it suspected rampant match-rigging. Having taken a clear stand on the matter it now has a moral obligation to try to find out who was behind the suspected match-fixing.
If it does not try to get to the bottom of this case, what is the point of sharing information with betting companies? In order to postpone suspect matches? That is a half-hearted way of dealing with allegations of match-fixing.
