Minerva have submitted a formal report, which includes a timeline of the two fixing approaches to AIFF’s integrity officer. File
The Minerva Punjab squad was at the Shillong airport, waiting to board the flight to Chandigarh, on Tuesday night when, at 8.34pm, a player received call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as the player’s fan to get him talking.
After the initial small talk, the mystery person got to the point. “We can both make a lot of money. You understand what I am trying to say, right?” he told the player, according to Minerva owner Ranjit Bajaj. “If you are interested, we want to meet you and talk about it.” The player hung up and reported the incident to the club officials, including Bajaj. The following evening, on Wednesday, another player — this time, a foreigner — got a message on Facebook from a person named ‘Veer Veer’, who described himself as a Delhi resident currently living in Mallorca, Spain. Veer, too, claimed to be the player’s fan and added him as a ‘friend’ on Facebook. After a brief conversation, Veer asked the player for his number and almost immediately, he started receiving messages on WhatsApp.
“At first, he appreciated the player’s goals. Then, he asked my player if he wants to make some money. Openly, he said ‘I can help you fix a match. I will give you Rs 30 lakh per match.’,” Bajaj said. The player rejected the offer but just as he was hanging up, the caller asked him if any other player from the team, or the coach, would be interested. “The player hung up and we immediately alerted the All India Football Federation (AIFF),” Bajaj added.
The club has reported these match-fixing attempts to the AIFF and Asian Football Confederation. On Thursday, they submitted a formal report, including the timeline of the two incidents along with phone numbers and screenshots of the conversations, to AIFF’s integrity officer Javed Siraj.
Siraj, a former CBI officer, is expected to investigate the issue along with Geneva-based corporation Sportradar, FIFA and Asian Football Confederation’s integrity watchdog, who also monitor the Indian Super League and I-League matches. “It is concerning for us that for the first time such an incident has happened. At the same time, we have to work actively to ensure the league’s integrity is upheld,” I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said.
On fixers’ radar
India’s domestic competitions might not be glamourous compared to most other leagues around the world, but despite lacking the global appeal, they have been on the match fixers’ radar for several years. Four years ago, when FIFA’s integrity officers conducted a workshop for the I-League clubs in Delhi, they noted that more than 100 online betting websites took bets on dozens of national tournaments – from something as local as the Delhi league to the pan-India I-League. Some matches were even red-flagged for irregular betting patterns although no misdeed could be established. In that context, the offer made to Minerva Punjab players to fix I-League matches should hardly come as a surprise.
Shaji Prabhakaran, former FIFA development officer for South and Central Asia, said the world governing body had anticipated and warned stakeholders in India that attempts to corrupt Indian leagues will be made.
“As India was growing economically in football, the investment was growing, the reality was it would be a target – you don’t need big research to point that fact. It was, in a way, expected that an attempt will be made,” Prabhakaran said.
“The workshop we conducted was a proactive step to educate the stakeholders because it was important to maintain integrity in football as the sport grew financially.”
According to those in know, data has been shared with Indian football officials of the heavy betting on some I-League and lower league matches from outside India.
“There are thousands of betting sites. You don’t have to be physically present. So if you are confident to get a couple of players on board and somehow influence the result, you can place a bet beforehand and make money,” a federation official said. “Since most local matches are neither televised nor followed closely, they are vulnerable to corruption.”
In August last year, a Calcutta Football League Premier Division ‘A’ match between Tollygunge Agragami and NBP Rainbow AC was deemed ‘manipulated’ by Sportradar. In March 2013, Mumbai FC officials claimed they were offered ‘life-changing sums’ to lose matches by a Malaysian match-fixing syndicate. The players rejected the offer, although no official complaint was registered with the AIFF.
Dhar said the current incident involving Minerva Punjab is the first time an approach has been reported to the AIFF. Siraj, meanwhile, applauded Minerva players for bringing the incident to AIFF’s notice. “I need to applaud the two footballers who recognised, rejected and reported the incident. We await an official complaint from the club and will leave no stone unturned to protect the integrity of football,” Siraj said in a statement.