By Duncan Mackay
November 21 – Declan Hill (pictured), author of the book The Fix, which alleged major matches across Europe had been rigged, has hailed the revelations that a continental-wide police investigation has uncovered widespread evidence of corruption.
Police in Germany, Britain, Austria and Switzerland staged simultaneous raids, arresting 15 people and seizing €1 million (£900,000) in cash or goods in the betting affair across nine European leagues, it was announced yesterday.
Hill said: ”This is superb news.
“Finally, a proper, well-resourced investigation into corruption in match-fixing in European football.
“The UEFA investigation unit was started, partly, because of the book.
“Certainly, I was flown to Geneva to speak to officials about the structure of the organisation.
“Now, I am very pleased to see that it has produced such strong results.
“Great, great news.”
News of the investigation and scale of the problem has sent shock-waves across Europe but Hill, a Canadian who has also made documentaries on the killing of the head of the Canadian mafia, blood feuds in Kosovo and ethnic cleansing in Iraq, has warned that this could be just the beginning.
Writing on his blog, Hill said: ”I have two hopes for the outcome of the investigation: There have been a number of other investigations into match-fixing that have started with lots of publicity, strong calls of a major clean-up and multiple arrests: Portugal - the Pinto da Costa case, Germany - the Hoyzer case, France - the Tapie case.
“Then the authorities find one person, dump all the cases onto them and construct ‘conspiracies of one’ rather than uprooting the essential corrupt structure within the game.
“Journalists and fans should stay on top of this case, to ensure that this does not happen again.
“When the convictions happen, the authorities should make sure that the penalties are the harshest possible.
“There should be a clear signal sent out to the players, referees and officials that this will not be tolerated in the sport that we love.”
For more details on The Fix and how to order a copy click here.
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