Possible sports betting scandal in the Netherlands: A total of 27 football players, including 25 professionals from the first and second divisions, are said to have violated the guidelines on sports betting for footballers of the Dutch football association KNVB.
As the Dutch TV broadcaster NOS reported, the players are said to have bet on the games of their own teams or their league.
In the field of match-fixing, the KNVB has a zero-tolerance policy. Six players from the Eredivisie, 19 from the first division (second division) and two amateur players are said to be affected.
The association said it was aware of the reports, but did not yet know the names of the players affected. “Due to a lack of information, we cannot take any disciplinary action. We have so far unsuccessfully asked the judicial authorities for assistance. We hope to talk to the Ministry of Justice soon to find a solution,” NOS quoted a statement from the association as saying.
The Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU), a gambling control agency’s reporting office for signals of possible match-fixing, determined the rule violations in an investigation and forwarded it to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The FIU is now investigating the cases and forwarding them to the police if they are punishable. The FIU initially did not disclose the number of reports.
Between October 2021 and December 2022, betting shops reported 40 suspected cases to the SBIU. Last year defender Tom Beugelsdijk was banned for five games after the then Sparta Rotterdam player had a record of betting on Eredivisie games.
This article was written by SID Editors
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