http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/01..._r=0&referrer=
As the match began, FIFA’s Early Warning System, which monitors gambling on sanctioned matches, began to detect odd movements in betting. Gamblers kept increasing their expectations of how many goals would be scored, a possible sign of insider betting.
Before the match, the betting line had been 2.68 goals, an ordinary number, said Matthew Benham, a former financial trader who runs a legal gambling syndicate in England. By kickoff, the expected goals rose drastically, to 3.48, and then to more than 4 during the match, Mr. Benham said.
The questionable calls began early. In the 12th minute, South Africa scored on a penalty kick after a Guatemalan defender was called for a hand ball even though he was clearly outside the penalty area. At halftime, the two assistant referees from Tanzania “looked shivering, nervous,” Mr. Sithole said in the report. He was part of the officiating crew.
In the 50th minute, Guatemala was awarded a suspicious penalty kick for a hand ball, even though a South African defender stopped a shot in front of the goal with his chest, not his arm.
Mr. Goddard watched from the grandstands, where he noticed others seemed just as incredulous about the refereeing. A South African broadcaster kept looking in his direction in disbelief. A fellow South African soccer official repeatedly turned to Mr. Goddard with open arms, as if to say, “What about that?”
In the 56th minute, another debatable penalty kick was awarded to South Africa, which resulted in the team’s fourth goal in a 5-0 rout.
The FIFA report stated plainly that “we can conclude that this match was indeed manipulated for betting fraud purposes.”
Before the match, the betting line had been 2.68 goals, an ordinary number, said Matthew Benham, a former financial trader who runs a legal gambling syndicate in England. By kickoff, the expected goals rose drastically, to 3.48, and then to more than 4 during the match, Mr. Benham said.
The questionable calls began early. In the 12th minute, South Africa scored on a penalty kick after a Guatemalan defender was called for a hand ball even though he was clearly outside the penalty area. At halftime, the two assistant referees from Tanzania “looked shivering, nervous,” Mr. Sithole said in the report. He was part of the officiating crew.
In the 50th minute, Guatemala was awarded a suspicious penalty kick for a hand ball, even though a South African defender stopped a shot in front of the goal with his chest, not his arm.
Mr. Goddard watched from the grandstands, where he noticed others seemed just as incredulous about the refereeing. A South African broadcaster kept looking in his direction in disbelief. A fellow South African soccer official repeatedly turned to Mr. Goddard with open arms, as if to say, “What about that?”
In the 56th minute, another debatable penalty kick was awarded to South Africa, which resulted in the team’s fourth goal in a 5-0 rout.
The FIFA report stated plainly that “we can conclude that this match was indeed manipulated for betting fraud purposes.”
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