Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

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

 

Martyn Ziegler
Wednesday 11 July 2012 16:28 BST
Comments
Claus Lundekvam during his time at Southampton
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

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in