Sportbildt said that two Swedish amateur teams had to cancel a friendly soccer match before they were held in secret, due to fears of tampering with its outcome, after 150 bookmakers around the world offered to bettors in the absence of other sports.
And with no comprehensive isolation imposed in Sweden despite the outbreak of the Coruna virus, Seventh-Class rival Eskilstuna was preparing to face Nicholas Schuev, of the eighth degree, in a friendly match last Monday.
But the growing interest of bettors and bookmakers around the world, and the attempt to control the outcome of the match, caused it to be canceled.
"People from other countries have called and wanted to influence the outcome. I've never seen anything like this before, but the situation is like anything else in the shadow of the Coronavirus, these situations are not to be expected," said Nachta striker Emile Shalin-Ericsson.
Nachulta (the owner of the stadium) asked for advice from Svenska Spiel, the local betting company of the government, which informed him that at least 148 betting companies around the world offered the match to the bettors.
"When you talk about 100 to 200 bookmakers, it is possible to calculate a small amount of money for each company, and despite that the total will be a large amount, this is a very large amount," Dan Cornin, head of the Sports Integrity Unit in Svenska Spiel, told the Sportbelt newspaper.
The two teams decided to change the match date to the following Saturday, and in order to prevent the bettors from knowing this, the players were informed in secret, and the match or its details were not announced on Facebook or the Internet.
Eskilstuna 6-3 defeated the landlord against a few fans, and Shalin-Erickson scored two goals for Nashulta.
With increasing interest around the world, the two teams are likely to turn the friendly match into a regular event.