FIFA Will Not Allow Match-Fixing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is just days away from kicking off in Qatar and like any major tournament, match-fixing is on everybody’s mind. That is especially true this year when sports betting is at an all-time high.
An ESPN article explains that according to an international sports betting monitoring firm, Sportradar, there have already been over 600 potentially fixed matches thus far in 2022. With the 2022 World Cup being the biggest soccer event of the year FIFA is going to do anything to stop potential match-fixing.
Match fixing is not uncommon in smaller leagues. That is partially because the players and referees are not paid nearly as well and will take bribes far more easily than in notable leagues.
FIFA has gone out and gotten the FBI, INTERPOL, and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) to monitor all the bets being placed on the 2022 World Cup. Along with them, Sportradar will be using its artificial intelligence which is used to monitor the betting patterns of over 600 sportsbooks around the world.
“I know it sounds like James Bond, but it’s not,” said Andreas Krannich, the managing director of Sportradar’s integrity services. “It’s solid intelligence work. We’ve even infiltrated a match-fixing organization.”
It is not only the betting side of things that is being monitored to prevent match-fixing, but also the referees set to officiate the matches in Qatar are being educated on the issue. This should be very helpful as referees have become far more reliant on VAR in some of the biggest leagues in the world such as the Premier League.
To educate referees, FIFA had a workshop that explained the threat of match-fixing and how to properly manage the matches. This includes telling them all the precautions that are in place to prevent match-fixing.
While it is unlikely that there will be much match-fixing at such a large event it is possible as we saw in 2016 during World Cup Qualifying. In a match between South Africa and Senegal, there were an unusual amount of bets placed on the over for goals. During the match referee, Joseph Lamptey made some clearly wrong decisions with one leading directly to a penalty kick. Lamptey was later banned for life by FIFA after an investigation into the incident.
The 2022 World Cup should be the most betted event of the year and have a boatload of money placed on it. During the 2018 World Cup, there was over $150 million bet on matches throughout the tournament. With sports betting being more popular than ever, especially in the U.S, that number should rise immensely this time around.
With the large amounts of money set to be spent betting on the 2022 World Cup, FIFA is doing everything it can to prevent match-fixing from occurring in Qatar.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will begin on Sunday, November 20, and run until the final on December 18.
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