After yesterday’s revelations that the NSW Police‘s organised crime cops were investigating the NRL over allegations of match fixing, the organisation has stepped up and said “Wait, what? Nah… nah, don’t reckon.”
NRL boss Todd Greenberg is pretty adamant that no actual investigation has begun, contrary to what the cops might say, and that it’s entirely at the “probe stage” with no specific charges.
“There is no specific allegation yet, no charges, no formal investigation by police and we should be careful not to jump to conclusions,” Greenberg said.
Allegedly, as we reported yesterday, two games from the 2015 season are under scrutiny. One spanner in the works for investigators is that at least one prominent bookmaker has suggested that no unusual or irregular bets were placed on the games in question.
A spokesperson for Sportsbet.com.au reiterated the commitment both the NRL and bookmakers have to keeping the integrity of the game intact:
Sportsbet has an integrity and information sharing agreement with the code which is a cornerstone of protecting the integrity of the game, where we immediately report any suspicious betting behaviour to the NRL and/or law enforcement agencies.
This all comes after reports from last year by Fairfax that gambling identity Eddie Hayson claimed to have paid six NRL players $50,000 to fix a game. He allegedly put down $500,000 on South Sydney beating Manly by more than eight points in a round 16 fixture. Which they did.
As mentioned, it’s all pretty early stages at this point. The NRL are right in pointing out that there’s no specific charge or allegation at this point – but the cops are absolutely in the early stages of a probe.
Source: Ninemsn.
Photo: Getty Images.
