Netherlands Threatens Football Betting Scandal
- Have some games in the Netherlands been postponed? The police must now clarify this suspicion.
- 27 footballers are suspected of having a bet on their own teams or league.
- Several first-division professionals should be among them.
Netherlands (January 18, 2023) — Possible sports betting scandal in the Netherlands: According to local media reports a total of 27 football players are said to have violated the guidelines on sports betting for footballers of the Dutch football association KNVB. Six players from the Eredivisie, 19 from the first division (second division), and two amateur players are said to be affected.
As the Dutch TV broadcaster NOS reported, the players are said to have bet on the games of their own teams or their league. In the field of match-fixing, the KNVB has a zero-tolerance policy.
The association said it was aware of the reports but did not yet know the names of the players affected. “Due to a lack of information, we cannot initiate disciplinary measures. We have so far asked the judicial authorities for support in vain. We hope to talk to the Ministry of Justice soon to find a solution,” NOS quoted a statement from the association as saying.
The Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU), a gambling control agency’s reporting office for signals of possible match-fixing, determined the rule violations in an investigation and forwarded it to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The FIU is now investigating the cases and forwarding them to the police if they are punishable. The FIU initially did not disclose the number of reports.
Between October 2021 and December 2022, betting shops reported 40 suspected cases to the SBIU. Last year defender Tom Beugelsdijk was banned for five games after the then Sparta Rotterdam player had been reportedly betting on Eredivisie games.
SOURCE: ntv.de, ara/sid.
