Several I-League players in India have been solicited to fix matches this season, according to the country’s football authority on Thursday.
“We have received information of multiple approaches to our players,” stated Kalyan Chaubey, head of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
“We will thoroughly examine the incidents, investigate, and take all necessary action.”
The federation did not name any of the players or clubs who had been asked to “manipulate matches” in the country’s second-tier league, which included 13 clubs.
Chaubey stated that the federation would tighten its mechanism to prevent such threats and educate players and officials on how to identify and report such fraudulent practises.
The AIFF established its anti-corruption squad a decade ago when a Malaysian betting syndicate approached Indian players with the intention of fixing I-League matches.
Its integrity officer, Javed Siraj, did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, but a senior AIFF official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called it a “concern.”
“A few players reported similar approaches and results of a couple of matches raised our doubts,” the official went on to say.
“A clearer picture would emerge only after the investigation ends.”
An I-League club claimed to the AIFF in 2018 that several of their players had been solicited via social media to manipulate matches.