Namibia Approached By Betting Syndicate

Oneword · 07:58 PM

I am proud of our Brave Warriors!

Reports are emanating that Namibia players had been approached by a betting syndicate representative to fix their final group game against Guinea.

The Namibia national side has revealed they were offered $30,000 per player to influence the result of the match against Guinea.

Namibia Football Association president John Muinjo confirmed he was informed of the offer by his players and immediately reported the case to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

"My players were approached by a man saying he represented a syndicate and offered them money to lose the game," Muinjo revealed on Saturday.

"The players came to me immediately to tell me and we've informed CAF of what has happened."

"The players were offered up to $30,000 to lose the game. They were offered half in advance but told they had to be able during the game to manipulate the score on the instructions of the syndicate."

Muinjo added that he called for a team meeting and warned his players not to fall victim to football corruption. He was also delighted with his players for their integrity and sense of urgency in informing him of the approach.

He said: "I'm very proud that my players came to see me straight away. I warned them about the impact accepting these sorts of offers could have on their careers. They are a team who believe in fair play."

Namibia were defeated in their opening two matches in the tournament. They have only a mathematical chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals.

No Response From CAF

Meanwhile, the CAF have yet to make a response on the latest match-fixing allegations in the African Cup of Nations. A representative, however, divulged that authorities have begun investigation. This is the second match-fixing allegation to have rocked the tournament.

On Thursday, Benin coach Reinhard Fabisch sensationally revealed that he received an approach by a man who claimed to be from a Singapore-based company before Benin’s opening match against Mali.

"He wanted to find out from me if there was any possibility of manipulating the match," Fabisch claimed.

"The man said the company he represented claimed to be able to fix matches across Africa and planned to win money in bets on the tournament's opening goal."

Despite being an African tournament, these incidents are clear examples that global betting syndicates have broken geographical boundaries by looking for opportunities to purport their own illegal interests.

goal.com

The Following User Says Thank You to Oneword For This Useful Post:
Shebeen (29th August 2008)