Breaking up Australia's biggest match-fixing ring

Nine players and one coach suspected of being involved in a multi-million dollar soccer match-fixing ring have been arrested, Australian police said on September 15.

It is the biggest soccer match-fixing bust in Australian sporting history. All 10 people arrested are believed to be members of the Southern Stars football club, which is at the bottom of the Victorian Premier League. Many of the players are from England.

(Source: AP)

Earlier in August, the Sports Intelligence Agency and Taskforce launched an investigation into a soccer match-fixing ring in Victoria state after receiving information from Football Federation Australia (FFA) about irregular betting and match scores.

Through investigation, the above agency discovered that the match-fixing ring had collected more than 2 million AUD (equivalent to 1.85 million USD) in winnings from both domestic and foreign betting and found clues about the origin of this money.

FFA chief executive David Gallop said the players involved could face a lifetime global ban, and if found guilty of match-fixing, the 10 men arrested could each face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Australian police said they will expand their investigation into overseas members of the match-fixing ring, which is likely operating across Europe./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT