Seven Football League Players Arrested Over Alleged Spot-Fixing

Seven Football League Players Arrested Over Alleged Spot-Fixing

Seven more players from Football League clubs based in the north west of England have been arrested in connection with alleged spot-fixing and another six rearrested over the claims.

The 13 footballers, aged between 18 and 30, are being interviewed at police stations across the country after they were held as part of an investigation into alleged bribery and money laundering, the National Crime Agency said.

In December the original six suspects were arrested as part of the inquiry, prompted by information passed on by the Sun on Sunday, and were bailed to return on April 8.

An NCA statement said: "Officers from the NCA have been actively pursuing a number of lines of inquiry in this ongoing investigation.

"The investigation began following receipt of material from the Sun on Sunday. It remains ongoing and we cannot provide further detail at this stage."

The tabloid reported that an undercover investigator met ex-Portsmouth player Sam Sodje, who allegedly said he could arrange for footballers in the Championship to get themselves a yellow card in return for tens of thousands of pounds.

Soccer - FA Carling Premiership - West Ham United v Crystal Palace

Match-fixing controversies

The 34-year-old also claimed he could rig Premier League games and even said he was preparing to fix matches at next year's World Cup in Brazil, the newspaper reported.

At the time Portsmouth FC said that Sodje no longer played for the club, but that it would co-operate fully with any investigation if it was approached by the authorities.

It was also claimed that Oldham Athletic player Cristian Montano failed to get a yellow card in return for money in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on October 22 and offered to take part in another rigging incident.

Oldham said it would carry out an immediate internal investigation into the allegations.

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