17 nabbed in biggest Euro betting scam

A MATCH-FIXING ring with more than 200 suspected members fixed or tried to fix around 200 matches across Europe, including three in the Champions League, in what UEFA called the biggest betting scandal in Europe.

Police in Germany, Britain, Austria and Switzerland staged simultaneous raids, arresting 17 people and seizing one million euros (US$1.49 million) in cash or goods as part of an investigation into the suspected manipulation of games across nine European leagues.

Bochum police in Germany said at a news conference yesterday that 200 people were suspected of being part of the ring that tried to rig about 200 matches.

Some 32 matches in Germany's lower divisions as well as dozens of first or second division matches in Turkey, Bosnia, Hungary, Croatia, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia were under investigation.

The investigation, which unearthed what UEFA representative Peter Limacher called Europe's biggest-ever betting affair, included only matches played in 2009.

"We at UEFA are stunned by the magnitude of this," Limacher told reporters.

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