Premier League spot-fixing claim

6:37 am, Thu 12 Jul 2012

Dave Bassett 'surprised' by betting claims

Former manager Dave Bassett has said he is surprised by the claims made by former Southampton defender Claus Lundekvam that he and other Premier League players were involved in spot-fixing.

1:32 am, Thu 12 Jul 2012

FIFA to probe Premier League bets fix scandal

FIFA have launched a probe into Claus Lundekvam’s sensational betting claims.

World football’s governing body reacted quickly after The Sun revealed the former Southampton skipper had confessed to spot-fixing in Premier League games.

Lundekvam: Spot-fixing 'happens a lot'

Claus Lundekvam pictured in a recent interview with Norways NOTV2 channel. Credit: NOTV2

In comments during an interview with Norwegian television station NOTV2, Claus Lundekvam said he was "often" involved in spot-fixing.

"I'm not proud of it, but the betting companies pave the way for it," he said.

He added: "You could manipulate certain events of the match - the first throw-in, first free kick or something else. It was easy for us to gamble on it."

He also appeared to suggest that spot-fixing was widespread:

"The players bet on a match they are involved in," he said. "That happens a lot."

4:30 pm, Wed 11 Jul 2012

Matt Le Tissier: 'No idea' about Lundekvam's claims

Matt Le Tissier, now a Sky Sports football pundit, played for Southampton between 1986 and 2002:

aside from the 1incident mentioned in my book ive never been involved in any betting scams and had no idea of claus lundekvams claims

From @mattletiss7 on Twitter: ( 7:28 am, Wed 11 Jul 2012)

A passage in Le Tissier's autobiography Taking Le Tiss recounts a failed plan to make around £10,000 by betting on the time of the first throw-in during a game against Wimbledon in 1995, before Lundekvam joined the club.

"I couldn’t see a problem with making a few quid on the first throw-in," he wrote.

4:21 pm, Wed 11 Jul 2012

Former Southampton captain denies spot-fixing culture

Southampton's Francis Benali (left) and Claus Lundekvam (right) take on West Ham in 1998. Credit: Tom Honan/EMPICS Sport

Former Southampton captain Francis Benali has denied any knowledge of a spot-fixing culture at the club.

Speaking to BBC Solent, Benali, now 43, said:

"I can say categorically I have no knowledge of the betting allegations made by Claus [Lundekvam]."

"I'm aware of the revelations and I'm very surprised in many ways," he added.

4:14 pm, Wed 11 Jul 2012

Lundekvam 'made a fair bit of money' on spot-fixing

The Sun quotes a "series of startling interviews" in Lundekvam's native Norway, in which he said:

For a while we did this almost every week. We made a fair bit of money.

We could make deals with the opposing captain about, for example, betting on the first throw, the first corner, who started with the ball, a yellow card or a penalty.

– Claus Lundekvam

But the 39-year-old, who retired in 2008, said he never attempted to fix the results of a game:

The results were never on the agenda. That is something I would never have done. We were professional competitors.