Allegations over match-fixing scandal looms over Maltese football after a report in the Finnish media claims that the international friendly between Finland and Malta, played in Turkey last Monday, is being investigated over suspicious odds.
Finnish broadcaster yle.fi reported on Thursday that the Finland Football Association will look into their national team’s 5-0 victory over Malta in a friendly played in Belek.
The report said that the Finnish governing body of football is investigating claims made by Federbet, a non-governmental organisation that looks over suspicions of match-fixing, who claimed in a post on their official Facebook account, that the odds of the friendly match between Finland and Malta were deemed as suspicious.
Federbet's claim on their official Facebook account.“We do not blame anyone. As usual, we got some signs of suspicious betting and monitored the international market,” Federbet secretary general Francesco Baranca told the Finnish broadcaster.
On Monday, Finland raced into a 3-0 lead inside the first 27 minutes following a brace by Teemu Pukki and another goal from Kalle Taimi.
Malta tried to claw themselves back into the match in the second half but it was Finland who added two late goals through Fredrik Jensen (84) and substitute Pyri Soiri (87).
Marco Casagrande, Secretary General of the Finnish Football Association, said that governing body intends to clarify the matter.
"We are going to make a thorough investigation through our channels, in collaboration with UEFA," he said.
"I am not suspicious but since these rumours travel quickly in both national and international competition, we want to find out more about this."
Meanwhile, the Malta FA issued a statement about this case, stating that they will be looking further into this case to see if there were any irregularities.
"The Malta Football Association has taken note of the media reports on the betting patterns in connection with the friendly match between Finland and Malta, played on 26th March, 2018 at the Gloria Sports Arena in Belek, Turkey," the statement said.
"While no official information has been received sofar,the Malta FA is looking into these claimswith the assistance of its official partners in this field,and the matter is being referred to the competent bodies for further evaluation."