Laos promises probe into match-fixing allegations if needed

INCHEON — The Lao Football Federation (LFF) will conduct an investigation, if required, into allegations that two of Laos’ group matches at the Asian Games in Incheon were corruptly influenced, said LFF general secretary Rasphone Xaybandith.

Suspicions of match-fixing have surfaced at the Asian Games' men's under-23 football competition, after sports betting analysis firm Sportradar told The New Paper (TNP) that unusual betting patterns from some group matches played indicate that they could have been manipulated. According to TNP's report,  it was understood that three late-scoring matches – Laos vs Malaysia (0-4), Laos vs Saudi Arabia (0-3), Nepal vs Iraq (0-4) – have come under scrutiny.

In a phone interview from Laos yesterday, Xaybandith told TODAY they will conduct an investigation into the allegations if necessary.

“I don’t know anything (about the alleged match-fixing), as I was not at the Games and didn’t see the competition. But of course, if there is such a thing, we will not allow such behaviour,” he said. “We have an integrity committee and we will let them investigate if there is something.”

Laos exited the competition after losing all three of their matches in Group A. Lao National Olympic Committee secretary-general Somphou Phongsa also insisted they had not received news of the alleged incidents.

“We lost those games, but there is no complaint related to the losses. There is nothing in the Laos newspapers about this,” he said.

Questions posed to the Incheon Asian Games Organising Committee (IAGOC) at the daily media briefing also drew a blank, as Park Dal-hwa, director of IAGOC’s press relations bureau said: “The IAGOC have not received any reports of match-fixing. The committee has stated repeatedly that it will do its best to ensure fair games, and if there are (cases of match-fixing) then an official complaint should be filed. There are no official complaints registered.”

Twenty-nine nations competed in the men’s under-23 football tournament at the Games, with the round of 16 currently under way in the battle for one of the Asiad’s most coveted gold medals. But the spectre of match-fixing could threaten the Games’ reputation, particularly after Tajikistan defender Khurshed Beknazarov’s expulsion for failing a drugs test.