No UEFA investigation into Lyon win

08 December 2011 14:16

UEFA will not open an investigation at this stage into Lyon's thumping 7-1 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb after their own Betting Fraud Detection System did not detect any irregular betting patterns surrounding the match.

Lyon have backed the decision of the French online gaming authority (ARJEL) to run checks on bets placed on the result, which in combination with Ajax's 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid was enough to take the French club into the last 16.

UEFA have yet to receive reports from the match referee or match delegate but say at this stage they have not seen anything which warrants further investigation. A statement from UEFA released to Press Association Sport read: "UEFA is aware of, and has taken note, of the press coverage surrounding yesterday's (Tuesday) games and the various allegations made by the media."

The statement continued: "UEFA also considers the integrity of its own competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, as an absolute priority and pays extra attention to all games.

"We have also implemented a Betting Fraud Detections System (BFDS) as a tool against match-fixing - a system which monitors 29,000 games a season including all UEFA matches, and utilises data from more than 400 betting companies.

"For the time being this system has not shown any irregular betting patterns around yesterday's games or their outcome that would justify any inquiry on that front."

UEFA's statement continued: "UEFA also pays a lot of attention to the sporting behaviour on the pitch and we are currently waiting to receive the reports of the referee, referee observer and match delegate to see if, in their opinion, something suspicious might have happened.

"If there is anything in these reports that could raise a doubt, UEFA may then charge a disciplinary inspector to investigate the matter. But there is nothing at this stage that would justify doing so."

Lyon scored six times in the second half as they came from 1-0 down to incredibly book their place in the knockout stage. and the club released a statement on Thursday saying they understood the checks by ARJEL were necessary in the case of such an "atypical" result.

The statement on their official website read: "Lyon have become aware of the checks being carried out this morning by ARJEL, which fit with the procedures of the agency responsible for the regulation of online gaming. The club agree totally that action should be taken when a result is considered atypical."

Source: PA