Match Fixing in Indian football? Five I-League clubs under scanner by CBI

Xtra Time Web Desk: As the FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to begin in Qatar from Sunday, November 20,2022, news of match fixing in I League has emerged involving five clubs. According to reports, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is looking at the allegations.

It is leant that at least five Indian football clubs may have received “huge amounts of money” from an international fixer through shell firms.

The man in question is notorious is Singapore based international match fixer Wilson Raj Perumal. It is alleged Perumal has invested in Indian clubs through Living 3D Holdings Ltd. Wilson has been earlier convicted in Finland and Hungary and was first jailed for match-fixing in Singapore in 1995.

Perumal has been accused of fixing games at all levels, including the Olympics, World Cup qualifiers, women’s World Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup, and African Cup of Nations.

The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) is already looking into the matter.

“The AIFF has zero tolerance towards match-fixing and we have written to the clubs asking them to cooperate with the investigation,” AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran told TOI

“There are concerns about investments made by shell companies linked to the fixer. We will do whatever is needed to ensure that Indian football has no links with anyone remotely connected with match-fixing.”

The CBI has also written to each club separately to request information on all contracts, sponsorships, as well as the companies engaged in the hiring of foreign athletes and technical staff.