Match between Division 4 teams canceled - due to risk of match fixing

The fact that there is no elite sport running in principle does not mean that there is nothing to invest money for, for those who want it.

Many games companies allow games on training matches, even among teams far down in the series system. And the activity on the training matches is much greater now than normal, confirms Dan Korhonen, head and product manager for sports betting and game safety at Svenska Spel.

- They probably turn over five times as much as normal, he says, but at the same time emphasize that Svenska Spel is very restrictive about what training games they offer games on.

Among other things, they do not allow training matches that contain teams from lower series than Division 2.

- And we have a much more solid process when we bet these matches. Our bettors must contact both clubs to check on the squad and their attitude to the matches, so that we can ensure that we set the right odds and that it is safe to play, says Korhonen.

And it was not safe to play when two Division 4 teams today would record a training match. Namely, a match was canceled due to the risk of match fixing. The match went on to play at a couple of large gaming companies that are active in Sweden.

- We got indications that there was a risk that it would be possible to manipulate results or similar. And just indications of such a thing - this corona virus that spreads in football - made it fairly easy for us to decide that the match would not be played, says the chairman of one of the clubs at SVT Sport.

What were the indications?

- It came from several different directions that it would be played on this match, and that it was possible to do so. And when it proved to be possible to play the match, combined with the fact that it was a training match, it was a simple one. decision. None of this is in any way compatible with something we stand for, and is just the slightest risk that our association would be part of something that dark forces are gaining in profit, we set it.

- This is one of the most abominable things in our sport.

Crime Commissioner Fredrik Gårdare, who heads the Action Group Sports, the police group that works with sports-related crime, was not surprised when he was told about the incident in question.

- It is not surprising, but we have been waiting for it in recent days. We get reports from the Sports Federation about signs of a sharply increased bet against Sweden, we see match fixing networks that target their operations to the few countries that have any kind of racing games, he says.

However, the police have no preliminary investigation at the moment, related to match fixing against any training match lately.

- But we are expected to get it. Both when training matches are conducted and when these divisions get started, we expect significantly more cases than usual, says Gårdare.