MFA looking into reports Malta match against Finland was fixed

The Malta Football Association will be looking into allegations made in Finnish media that the international friendly between Finland and Malta played last Monday was fixed.

Finland beat Malta 5-0, with the first three goals arriving in the first 27 minutes.

“The Malta Football Association has taken note of the media reports on the betting patterns in connection with the friendly match between Finland and Malta, played on 26th March, 2018 at the Gloria Sports Arena in Belek, Turkey,” the statement said.

“While no official information has been received so far, the Malta FA is looking into these claims with the assistance of its official partners in this field, and the matter is being referred to the competent bodies for further evaluation.”

A report in the Finnish media claimed that the match is being investigated over suspicious odds.

Finnish broadcaster yle.fi reported that the Finnish governing body of football is investigating claims made by Federbet, a nongovernmental organisation that looks over suspicions of matchfixing.

The claim was made in a post on their official Facebook account, that the odds of the friendly match between Finland and Malta were deemed as suspicious.

“We do not blame anyone. As usual, we got some signs of suspicious betting and monitored the international market,” Federbet secretary general Francesco Baranca told the Finnish broadcaster.

Marco Casagrande, Secretary General of the Finnish Football Association, said that governing body intends to clarify the matter.

“We are going to make a thorough investigation through our channels, in collaboration with UEFA,” he said.

“I am not suspicious but since these rumours travel quickly in both national and international competition, we want to find out more about this.”