In 12 years, 96 red notices on match-fixing were forwarded to the police, but only in three cases, evidence was found that led to people being brought to court. The sentences imposed were light, while several serious cases are still open.
According to data provided to Phileleftheros by police spokesman Christos Andreou, since 2011, a total of 96 red notices relating to rigged matches due to intense betting activity were forwarded to the special office staffed by six persons.
Nine of the games flagged occurred in 2011, three in 2012, 14 in 2013, seven in 2014, five in 2015, 23 in 2016, five in 2017, four in 2018, nine in 2019, and six in 2020.
It is noted that from 2020 onwards, red notices coming from UEFA are forwarded directly to the Sports Protection Commission which conducts its own investigations and the conclusion is forwarded to the Legal Service.
In cases when criminal offenses arise, the file is sent to the Police for investigation, as was recently the case with two cases in which it was found that criminal offenses existed and are being investigated.
Christos Andreou referred to the difficulties faced by the competent office in investigating such cases, since initially statements are taken from all the players of a match for which a red notice was received and then a request for judicial assistance is sent to the country where the betting company is located, which is mainly in Asia.
Some 90% of the requests are not even answered, Andreou said, so the relevant files are not completed. Out of 96 red notices, only three cases were traced and three persons were brought to justice.
In one case, the accused was fined €850, in the second €550, while the third is pending before the court.
