May 20 – The scourge of match-fixing has again reared its head in Europe with suspicious betting activity surrounding a League of Ireland First Division match between Cobh Ramblers and Limerick at the weekend prompting an investigation by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
Bookmakers Paddy Power and bet365 had shut down betting on the match, reportedly due to unusually high betting volumes, before underdogs Limerick scored the first goal.
Limerick were 2-0 up at half time before Cobh levelled the game at 2-2 in the second half. Limerick won with a penalty, their second of the match.
Cobh Ramblers manager Stephen Henderson told Irish press that the club would help the FAI with any investigation. “We are just a group of volunteers trying to run a club,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work over the past four years and we don’t want that to be damaged by anything.”
The FAI is already investigating an April 19 match which also involved Limerick, this time against Shelbourne. The major reportedly had a “major gamble” on a Shelbourne win – the match finished 2-0 to Shelbourne.
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