The European Union law enforcement agency Europol has released a report on a major investigation into football match fixing that covered 380 matches played in Europe, including 18 in Croatia.
According to the report, which was carried by English and Italian newspapers on Tuesday, most of the "suspicious" matches were played in Turkey - 79, while 70 matches were being investigated in Germany, 41 in Switzerland, 32 in Finland, 20 in Hungary, 19 in Belgium, 16 in Austria, 7 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 7 in Slovenia. A Champions League match between England's Liverpool and Hungary's Debrecen was allegedly also rigged.
Europol officials said at the presentation of the report on Monday that there was strong evidence that at least 150 matches had been fixed.
"A total of 425 match officials, club officials, players, and serious criminals, from more than 15 countries, are suspected of being involved in attempts to fix more than 380 professional football matches," the report says.
Two Champions League and 14 European League matches are allegedly under investigation.
The European football governing body UEFA said it was cooperating with Europol in the investigation, stressing that it had "zero tolerance" for match fixing.
Europol chief Rob Wainwright said on Monday that a Singapore-based criminal group was involved in the biggest corruption scandal in the history of football.
In addition to 380 matches that are being investigated in Europe, another 300 matches are also under investigation in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.
