THE Cyprus football association (CFA) has already received the first notification about suspicious betting activity in relation with a fixture just as the season begins.
The revelation was made by CFA chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis through his personal Facebook page.
Koutsokoumnis said the game between Limassol sides AEZ and Apollonas had been deemed suspicious due to high betting activity.
European football governing body UEFA is expected to send the details in the next few days.
“Expecting the file whose contents will be interesting,” Koutsokoumnis said.
The CFA chairman said the file will point out which team was responsible.
Last season, Cyprus received 21 notifications concerning suspicious games. In a bid to tackle match fixing, the CFA rolled out tough measures, which include relegation for repeat offenders.
In total, the CFA has received 59 notifications in recent years.
Though it does not necessarily mean a game had been fixed, authorities have so far failed to collect any evidence either way.
According to the CFA, a team named in a UEFA notification will be fined €5,000 as a first step. A repeat will fetch the side a €10,000 fine, while third-time offenders will lose CFA funding.
Teams named in four notices will have three points docked, six if there is a fifth, and nine for a sixth notice.
A seven-time offender will be relegated.
The rules also apply to team coaches and officials.
A coach whose team received four notifications during the same season will be banned for two years. The same goes for the chairman.
Match fixing caused a spat between Greece and Cyprus, essentially over which country had the dirtiest football.
Greek side Larissa chairman Alexis Kouyias, made a disparaging comment about the Cypriot game after his side drew 2-2 to Heracles. One of the goals Larissa conceded was the fault of Argentinian goalie Matias Degra, who played for Limassol club AEL last year.
Following the final whistle, a livid Kouyias slapped Degra for his mistake and suggested later that conceding the goal had been deliberate.
“There is the beauty of football but there is also another kind of football, and that is why what happened happened,” he said.
“Especially when we’re talking about players who come from suspect championships.”
He said he bought the goalie because the team he played for was renowned for its credibility.
Kouyias then claimed that he attended a game in Cyprus between Ethnikos Achnas and Partizani Tirana in the 2005-2006, where there were 40 fans with laptops.
“I’ve never seen this before. I know well what happens everywhere,” he said.
Koutsokoumnis responded through his Facebook, telling Kouyias that people living in glass houses should not throw stones.
“Last year Greece received 55 files,” the CFA chairman said.
