Football: Fixing suspicions over Europa game

OSLO: Norway’s football federation announced that it will approach Uefa over suspicions of match-fixing during the Europa League game between Aalesund and Albanian side Tirana. Tirana is suspected of having deliberately lost the third preliminary round on July 26, after the national lottery Norsk Tipping alerted the federation about unusual betting patterns, particularly from Asia, during the match. Norsk Tipping spokesman Einar Busterud said that suspicions were raised because the chances of a team winning 5-0 were low but there were such large numbers of bets on the result that the odds fell. Questioned by the Verdens Gang newspaper, Tirana official Salih Dagani rejected allegations of match-fixing.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2012.