Three people have been arrested in connection with an attempt to fix a first division match between Naxxar and Gżira last week.

The police have spoken to players and officials from one of the clubs but none of the arrests involve the clubs. The suspects are believed to have made an approach to Naxxar players to throw the game, sources have said.

At least one of the suspects is believed to be connected to a betting network. However, investigators are trying to establish whether the scam goes beyond this particular match.

The game on Friday ended in a draw.

Both teams are tipped as favourites for promotion this season. The whistleblower was actually a Naxxar player, who gave his club and, eventually, the police “evidence” of an approach to bribe him.

Naxxar president Dione Drago confirmed this yesterday and encouraged other players to follow the example.

“The only way to eradicate suspicion and send a message out there that this is not acceptable is for players, like our player did, to come forward and be prepared to go all the way,” Mr Drago said.

The investigation comes hot on the heels of a bribing scandal that shocked Maltese fans last month when Valletta player Kevin Sammut, il-Viper, was found guilty by the European football federation of match-fixing during the Malta v Norway Euro 2008 qualifier.

Two other players facing the charges, Stephen Wellman and Kenneth Scicluna, were cleared in the same proceedings last month.