Group Arrested for Match Fixing in Spain
Author:
Megan Butler
A verdict has finally been reached more than a year after a football match during the Copa del Rey raised the suspicions of authorities in Spain. The match that took place in December 2021 between Levante CF and CD Huracán Melilla was allegedly the target of match fixing by a group based in Melilla. Six individuals have now been arrested in connection to the apparent plot to win money by fixing the game and placing substantial bets.
Spain’s national police have made arrests regarding a case of alleged match fixing during the 2021 Copa del Rey.
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How did this investigation come about?
The investigation that ultimately resulted in the arrest of six alleged match-fixers started with a complaint to LaLiga. LaLiga is Spain’s top men’s football division, and the organization found the results of an early stage Copa del Rey match suspicious after it was won 0-8 by Valencia team Levante CF.
Copa del Rey, Spain’s premiere domestic football tournament, pits Spanish teams against one another. On this occasion, the match included Levante CF as well as the team from Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city in North Africa, known as CD Huracán Melilla.
After CD Huracán Melilla lost so miserably, and LaLiga filed its complaint, investigators began putting together the pieces thanks to records from bets placed in Melilla at the time of the match. Spain’s General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling was able to alert authorities about these bets and their resulting winnings.
It is common practice for regulated gaming systems of various countries to make use of technology that flags suspicious betting activity, like what took place in Melilla during this occasion. It is unclear from reports whether the Directorate was indeed tipped off by such software or if it simply investigated the crime thanks to the notice from LaLiga.
Regardless, the Directorate was successful in flagging a series of high bets made immediately preceding the game. These were unusual in Melilla, both due to their size and number. The bets were placed both using online services as well as in-person sportsbooks. Apparently, these bets resulted in wins of a cumulative 30,000 euros, or $31848 USD.
A spokesperson for the Directorate explained that these bets took place in the span of three hours. This was part of what raised suspicions, as well as the multitude of bets made for a specific result, which is in fact the result that occurred in the game.
The investigation that followed was led by the National Police. They worked together with SIGMA, the Global Betting Market Investigation Service, as well as with LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation and, finally, National Police Center for Integrity in Sports and Gambling (CENPIDA), to identify those who had bet in favor of the Melilla team’s poor results.
Next steps of the investigation
These six people were found and have now been arrested on the charge of fixing the result of the game. Though their names have not yet been shared publicly, it is known that one of the six was a former player of CD Huracán Melilla. Therefore the link between the poor results of the match and this player’s individual bet, against his own team, is fairly clear.
This player and the rest of the accused have given statements to Melilla’s investigating court. LaLiga also has an anonymous email it received, which set off the entire investigation. This was sent to an email address — [email protected] — which was created for just these kinds of tips in 2015.
