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FOOTBALL

Match-fixing scandal rocks Norway

Norway’s football association (NFF) reported match-fixing allegations to the police on Monday amid suspicions that players have teamed with organized criminals to rig results for betting reasons.

Match-fixing scandal rocks Norway
NFF president Yngve Hallén, secretary general Kjetil Siem, and communications director Svein Graff atttend a press conference in Oslo on Sunday (Photo: Marianne Løvland/Scanpix)

NFF axed a second-division game between Ullensaker/Kisa and Ham Kam on Sunday over fears of outside interference aimed at fixing the result.

Third-tier team Follo also reported suspicions of match-rigging to NFF after a second-half collapse in its game against Østsiden saw the team shed a 3-0 lead in a match that ended 4-3 to the opposition.

Large bets were made on the game shortly before kickoff on June 24th.

Police are also expected to investigate a match played the same day between Asker and Frigg after Asker reported its 7-1 defeat as suspicious.

“NFF and the clubs want to assist the police to the best of our ability, which also means we are unable to comment on specifics relating to the case in light of the investigation,” said NFF president Yngve Hallén in a statement on Sunday.  

Speaking to newspaper Verdens Gang, NFF confirmed it had received information that the alleged match-fixing scheme was organized by mafia groups in Sweden with ties to the Balkan region.

“That information could be true or false,” said NFF secretary general Kjetil Siem.

The newspaper said a number of other centrally placed sources also claimed Sweden-based organized crime groups had approached players in Norway in an attempt to fix matches.

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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