New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday said that it was investigating the match-fixing approaches made to players from the Minerva Punjab Football Club during the ongoing I-League.

The club owner Ranjit Bajaj had earlier revealed that several of his players were approached by bookies for match-fixing.

The AIFF logo. Twitter/@IndianFootballTeam

The AIFF logo. Twitter/@IndianFootballTeam

"We have received a letter from Minerva Punjab Football Club highlighting approach to their players and officials from other participating teams in the Hero I-League. The case is presently being handled by AIFF Integrity officer who is doing a thorough investigation into the matter and necessary action will be taken as per the regulations," the AIFF said in a statement.

The unnamed players were offered Rs 30 lakh in each case.

One of the players is Indian while the other is a foreigner, according to Bajaj.

"Two of my players came to me with screenshots of match-fixing offers of 30 lakhs/I reported it to AIFF integrity officer&also AFC thru their integrity app/really hope these unscrupulous elements are not successful in getting thru2other players and match officials @ILeagueOfficial," Bajaj had tweeted in January.

Later in the month of January, Bajaj again wrote on social media that another five of his players were asked to fix matches in the I-League, taking the number to seven.


Published Date: Mar 07, 2018 20:49 PM | Updated Date: Mar 07, 2018 20:49 PM