Spanish national police announced that they expect to arrest 11 different people, including current and former La Liga players, in an operation against match-fixing in the country’s professional soccer leagues.
In what they’re calling operation “Oikos,” police say they also plan to arrest active second-division players as well as club presidents and managers. The investigation has reportedly allowed police to look into uncover agreements with players to fix at least three games in the Spanish first, second and third divisions.
None of the players have yet been named. One of the second-division games investigated reportedly had betting companies see a volume of bets 14 times higher than usual at that level.
According to ESPN, the operation stems from a claim filed by La Liga that alleged irregularities during a game last season between SD Huesca and Nastic Tarragona in the Segunda Division. Huesca, which had already won promotion to La Liga, lost 1-0 to a Nastic team near relegation.
Nearly 30 betting companies reportedly suspended all bets for that game after detecting a large amount of money being placed on bets for a scoreless first half and Nastic win. Bookmakers reported large bets came in from Ukraine and Asia. None of the biggest La Liga teams seem to implicated in this investigation.
Source: Yahoo Sports
