FIFA are to investigate the claims made by former Southampton defender Claus Lundekvam that he and other Premier League players were involved in spot-fixing. He has insisted that they never doctored the result of a game.
Matt Le Tissier: 'No idea' about Lundekvam's claims
Matt Le Tissier, now a Sky Sports football pundit, played for Southampton between 1986 and 2002:
aside from the 1incident mentioned in my book ive never been involved in any betting scams and had no idea of claus lundekvams claims
From @mattletiss7 on Twitter: (about 9 hours ago)A passage in Le Tissier's autobiography Taking Le Tiss recounts a failed plan to make around £10,000 by betting on the time of the first throw-in during a game against Wimbledon in 1995, before Lundekvam joined the club.
"I couldn’t see a problem with making a few quid on the first throw-in," he wrote.
37 minutes agoFormer Southampton captain denies spot-fixing culture
Southampton's Francis Benali (left) and Claus Lundekvam (right) take on West Ham in 1998. Credit: Tom Honan/EMPICS Sport Former Southampton captain Francis Benali has denied any knowledge of a spot-fixing culture at the club.
Speaking to BBC Solent, Benali, now 43, said:
"I can say categorically I have no knowledge of the betting allegations made by Claus [Lundekvam]."
"I'm aware of the revelations and I'm very surprised in many ways," he added.
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44 minutes agoLundekvam 'made a fair bit of money' on spot-fixing
The Sun quotes a "series of startling interviews" in Lundekvam's native Norway, in which he said:
– Claus LundekvamFor a while we did this almost every week. We made a fair bit of money.
We could make deals with the opposing captain about, for example, betting on the first throw, the first corner, who started with the ball, a yellow card or a penalty.
But the 39-year-old, who retired in 2008, said he never attempted to fix the results of a game:
– Claus Lundekvam about 1 hour agoThe results were never on the agenda. That is something I would never have done. We were professional competitors.
FIFA to investigate former Southampton player's spot-fixing claims
Claus Lundekvam pictured playing for Southampton in 2005. Credit: Tony Marshall/EMPICS Sport FIFA are to investigate former Southampton defender Claus Lundekvam's claims that he was involved in spot-fixing, the world governing body have said.
More to follow.
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