Fixed Football Matches

Match-fixing is an occurrence that has been taking place in football ever since the sport was established. Throughout the years, there have been various forms of fixed football matches, whether they were for the benefit of a particular team, or else for the potential profit through a number of dark web services. The following short list shows some examples wherein match-fixing took place.

West Germany vs Austria (1982)

Also known as The Disgrace of Gijon, this 1982 FIFA World Cup scandal is no doubt one of the more obvious examples of match-fixing found in this list. The match was the last group stage fixture meant to be played in the group, meaning both sides already knew the outcome result.

It was clear that if West Germany won this game by even just 1 goal, both themselves and Austria would proceed to the following round. The game started and West Germany had scored a goal in the initial 10 minutes of the game. The remaining 80 minutes of the game were played by neither side attempting to score, which clearly indicated that both teams preferred the result to remain that way. Although both teams were accused of match-fixing, they both proceeded to the next round.

Nigerian Second Division (2013)

The Nigerian games between Plateau United Feeders vs Akurba FC and Police Machine FC vs Bubayaro FC were clearly fixed matches with the Feeders beating their opponents with a ridiculous score of 79-0 and the Police Machines beating their opponents with another absurd score of 67-0. The possible reason for the occurrence of these fixed football matches was that there was a high stake involved on both matches, perhaps on certain betting websites found on the hidden web. As a result of this, the four teams involved were banned from further games for the following 10 years.

FC Slutsk vs Shakhter Soligorsk (2015)

This 2015 Belarussian match was also known as a ghost game, meaning it didn’t even happen in the first place, however was still recorded. In this match, two large betting agencies paid out on the 2-1 result that never actually happened but for some reason, the websites of both sides seemed to report it in that way.

After an investigation of this match, the truth was eventually revealed. FC Slutsk later claimed that their website had been hacked, although it is clear that this was just another scam along with the other fixed matches of this kind.

Armenia vs Albania (EURO 2016 Qualifier)

The head of the Armenian football association suggested that a betrayal by his players took place in this match. With a 3-0 victory for Albania, there have been several match-fixing allegations which resulted in a risk that the Albanian team would be disqualified from the EURO tournament if were proven to be true. It was speculated that the Armenian team was bribed 500,000 euros to allow Albania to achieve an important victory, which would grant them participation in the EURO tournament of the following year.

Although this was another example of match-fixing, the Albanian team was still allowed to participate in the upcoming tournament.