Eight FK Arsenal Tivat players and officials charged with match fixing
Eight of the Montenegrin football club's players have received long-term bans from any football related activity.
Key points:
– FK Arsenal Tivat banned from UEFA competition for ten years and fined €500,000 ($579,000)
– Eight players and officials incriminated in potential match-fixing have received bans
– The club’s sporting director and one player have been suspended for life, with a recommendation that FIFA extend the sanction worldwide
UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary body has laid down the law to eight players and members of staff at Montenegrin football club FK Arsenal Tivat.
A two-legged Europa Conference League qualifier the team played against Alashkert FC was flagged to UEFA after reports of suspicious betting patterns around the tie.
The Sporting Director of Arsenal Tivat and one of the club’s players have now been issued with lifetime bans from all football-related activity following an adjudication, while the other six accused are barred from the sport for between six and ten years.
Suspicious betting patterns can be signals that the sporting integrity of the match has been compromised and carry with them the insinuation that match-fixing may be taking place.
In light of the judgements, UEFA has recommended that FIFA extend the suspensions worldwide, as the European body only retains a mandate to govern football on the continent.
Good to know: In 2024, Sportradar reported a 17% decrease in suspicious matches across world football
UEFA has the power to exclude the club itself from its own competitions, including the Europa Conference League itself – something it has done to the tune of ten years – but it has been suggested that further sanctions could be imposed by the Montenegrin domestic league.
The FA of Montenegro will decide for itself how to respond to such a recommendation, but a precedent was set by the Albanian football association which did not relegate KF Skenderbeu in 2019 when they were hit with a similar ban.
Whether the club are relegated from the top division in Montenegrin football or not, UEFA have ordered them to pay a €500,000 fine for its actions.
The offenses are specifically designated as breaches of ‘general principles of conduct’ and ‘integrity of matches and competitions and match fixing.’
These charges are consistent for every individual involved.
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