I-League players approached to fix matches

Several players of India's I-League clubs have been approached to fix matches this season, the country's football federation said on Thursday.

"We have received information of multiple approaches to our players," All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey said in a statement.

"We will thoroughly examine the incidents, investigate, and take all necessary action."

The 2023 I-League season began in October and more than 40 matches have already been played in the 13-team competition.

The federation did not name players or clubs who had been approached to "manipulate matches" in the country's second tier competition featuring 13 clubs.

Chaubey said the federation would further strengthen its system to counter such threats and educate players and officials on how to recognise such corrupt practices and report them.

The AIFF set up its anti-corruption unit a decade ago after a Malaysian betting syndicate approached Indian players to fix I-League matches.

It integrity officer Javed Siraj did not take calls by Reuters seeking details but a senior AIFF official, on 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 said.

"A clearer picture would emerge only after the investigation ends."

According to PTI, It is also learnt that the AIFF could also investigate into few a "suspicious" I-League matches.

The AIFF has in the past expressed concerns about investments made to I-League clubs by shell companies linked to shady individuals.

In 2018, the AIFF officially said that it was investigating match-fixing approaches made to players from the Minerva Punjab Football Club during the I-League.

In November last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a preliminary enquiry into alleged match fixing in football matches in the country.

During the enquiry, the CBI had collected documents from the AIFF on several Indian football clubs. Under the scanner was the role of an alleged match fixer, based in Singapore, in rigging the results of matches