Arsenal: suspicious Bitcoin bets

A FC Arsenal player is currently suspected of being involved in game manipulation. It is about granite Xhaka. The Swiss had received a yellow card in a league game in December 2021 in the last ten minutes. According to a report by “The Athletic”, around $ 420,000 in Bitcoin on an online betting exchange were set on this event event. The suspicious amount has prompted the corresponding betting exchange to report the incident of the “International Betting Integrity Association” (IBIA).

Time game leads to the yellow card

The key scene around the potential betting scandal had occurred on December 18, 2021. Of the FC Arsenal London Was a guest at Leeds United for a league game in the Premier League. The game was already decided at half -time. Arsenal led with three goals. The scene that occurred in the 86th minute should be all the more questionable. At 4: 1, Granit Xhaka shine In the execution of a free kick inexplicably time. The referee looked at the hustle and bustle of the midfielder for a while before showing the yellow card for time game.

A murmur went through the stadium during the unusual spectacle. The fans showed their resentment about the unnecessary situation of Xhaka. According to the report of “The Athletic”, this resentment should continue on the Internet. On Twitter, several people would have pointed out that shortly before the yellow cards $ 65,000 on the “Betfair” betting exchange have been placed on that. As a result, the quota fell into the basement. In addition, further bets were completed on other marketplaces.

Betfair. Betfair is a British bookmaker who operates the world’s largest online competition for sports betting. According to its own statements, the company counts more than three million registered customers. In USA, the provider has no longer been accessible since November 9, 2012, since the business model is not compatible with the local gambling law.

Profit in Bitcoin

As “The Athletic” reports, Betfair received an unusually large number of Bitcoin bets on a yellow card for an Arsenal player within the last ten minutes. The total profit of the individual bets would have are more than a million US dollars. Since Betfair suspected some inconsistencies at an early stage, the betting exchange was frozen. Afterwards, internal studies have been launched that a potential Manipulation would have brought about.

In the meantime, “The Football Association” (FA) has also switched on to take a closer look at the incident. However, the English Football Association showed that no formal studies were intended. Finally, “The Times” reported that the FA No misconduct from Granit Xhaka or Arsenal FC suspect.

Card magnet. Granit Xhaka is known as an impulsive and physical player, who also likes to hit the strands. In his five years at Arsenal, he received either a yellow or even a red card in over 25 percent of his played games.

Phenomenon of Spot fixing

The IBIA had recently suspected that the so-called “spot fixing” took place in the potential betting scandal. These are bets that do not aim at the overall result of a game. Rather stand Individual situations or details in focus – For example, the number of cards or corner balls.

To come. The “International Betting Integrity Association” is the mouthpiece of the global betting industry and represents the interests of licensed bookmakers. The members pursue the common goal of fighting corruption in the industry and protecting the integrity of sport. The association was founded in 2005 and was previously active under the name “Sports Betting Integrity”. Today the Ibia acts on six continents and is known for its strict regulations and requirements.

According to critics, “spot fixing” promotes corruption and swinging potential manipulations. It facilitates athletes to influence smaller aspects and details of a game unnoticed. However, the manipulated “spot fixing” is an absolute exception in top football, since the salaries are now so high that any financial incentive for a shift is missing.

In other sports, “spot fixing” is a significantly bigger problem-for example in the cricket. In 2010, the Pakistani players Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir were guilty of deliberately thrown no balls. They acted back then On behalf of a sports betting syndicatethat manipulated in a large scale during a tournament in England. Salman Butt, then captain of the Pakistani team, was also involved. All three men were covered with long locks.