Fifa to probe spot-fixing claims
Fifa's chief investigator in England will look into claims by former Southampton captain Claus Lundekvam that he, team-mates and opposing captains were involved in betting fraud.
In an interview in a Norwegian newspaper, Lundekvam said the players manipulated incidents such as the first throw-in for betting purposes.
The world governing body Fifa announced they will investigate the claims.
Lundekvam claimed the spot-fixing took place in Premier League matches in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He told Norwegian TV station NRK: "It's not something I'm proud of.
"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.
"Those were the sorts of thing we had influence over."
Lundekvam insisted he and his fellow players never rigged the result of a match.
He said: "The results were never on the agenda. That is something I would never have done. We were professional competitors. Even though what we did, of course, was illegal, it was just a fun thing."
A statement said: "FIFA is monitoring this issue and involved its chief investigator in England. Once all information is known it will be decided who is leading the investigations."
