Fifa to investigate spot-fixing claims of former Southampton captain Claus Lundekvam

Claus Lundekvam during his time at Southampton (GETTY IMAGES)

FIFA's chief investigator in England will look into claims by former Southampton skipper Claus Lundekvam that he, team-mates and opposing captains were involved in betting fraud.

In an interview in a Norwegian newspaper, Lundekvam said the players manipulated incidents such as the first throw-in for betting purposes.

The world governing body FIFA today announced they will investigate the claims.

A statement said: "FIFA is monitoring this issue and involved its chief investigator in England. Once all information is known it will be decided who is leading the investigations."

Lundekvam claimed the spot-fixing took place in Premier League matches in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He told Norwegian TV station NRK: "It's not something I'm proud of.

"For a while we did this almost every week. We made a fair bit of money. We could make deals with the opposing captain about, for example, betting on the first throw, the first corner, who started with the ball, a yellow card or a penalty.

"Those were the sorts of thing we had influence over."

Lundekvam insisted he and his fellow players never rigged the result of a match.

He said: "The results were never on the agenda. That is something I would never have done. We were professional competitors. Even though what we did, of course, was illegal, it was just a fun thing."

PA