AIFF president meets ACB head; orders high-level probe into 'match-fixing'
Feb 21, 2024
New Delhi [India], February 21 : All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey on Wednesday met Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chief Madhur Verma to appraise the investigative agency head on the allegations of match-fixing in the Delhi Premier League (DPL).
The President has highlighted 11 suspicious matches and has urged the agency for an in-depth investigation, with immediate action of filing a criminal complaint against the clubs suspected to be involved.
AIFF has taken a serious view of these incidents and the conduct of football in the Capital city Delhi. Earlier, the Federation had held an emergency meeting on February 19, 2024 to assess the gravity of the situation, after which the Federation had decided to approach the ACB Unit for a full investigation.
In today's hour-long meeting, the federation president briefed the ACB head on the incidents, indicating 11 suspected matches in red of such malpractice.
The ACB Chief Madhur Verma, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police acknowledged that his unit has received inputs from various sources, including AIFF and DSA about such activities in the Delhi Premier Football League.
The Bureau has asked for some more documents and videos of suspect matches, after which on basis of available evidence a detailed in-depth inquiry shall be conducted into the allegations and all culprits shall be brought to book.
AIFF served an email notice to the Delhi Soccer Association demanding clarification on the incident involving Monday's match at the Delhi Premier League.
"We are not limiting our investigation to one match here. Several incremental shreds of evidence have been found which cast serious doubts on the entire league," Kalyan Chaubey told ANI.
Chaubey further asserted that he would meet the Joint Commissioner of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau to get the issue resolved.
"I will be meeting the Joint Commissioner of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau to help us investigate it thoroughly and to get to the root of this syndicate. DSA has been advised to file an FIR immediately. Our investigation will not be limited to Delhi. We have reasons to believe through pieces of evidence, such practice in other cities too, and will form a wider network for our investigations," Chaubey added.
