Ukrainian Fixed Matches
FREE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS 26.05.2023
Soligorsk – Belshina
Pick: 1
Odds: 1.30 FT: 7:3 WON
Ukrainian Fixed Matches
Match-fixing remains a problem in Ukrainian football, as the large number of bets placed on a March friendly illustrated. However, both politicians and football administrators are making a concerted effort to clean up the problem through Parliamentary legislation and partnership with bookmakers. Vadim Furmanov explains the problem and examines the solution.
On 27 March, Chornomorets Odessa hosted Olimpik Donetsk at their training base for a friendly during the international break. The match, which ended 4-0 in favor of the home side, was not televised and drew only about 100 fans. Under normal circumstances, a match like this would have been forgotten immediately.
But, as it turned out, the circumstances were anything but normal. It soon emerged that over US$200,000 had been placed on the outcome of the match. The Ukrainian Derby between Shakhtar and Dynamo in late April, in comparison, drew approximately $100,000 in bets.
Legacy of match-fixing in Ukrainian
Match-fixing is not a new phenomenon in Ukrainian football. As Futbolgrad has examined in the past, the legendary Ukrainian manager Valeriy Lobanovskyi is known to have set up an entire system of ‘agreed-upon” matches that guaranteed his Dynamo Kiev side valuable points on the road. In the 1990s, Dynamo was disqualified from the UEFA Champions League for attempting to bribe a Spanish referee before a match against Greek side Panathinaikos.
More recently, Metalist Kharkiv was kicked out of the Champions League in 2013 for an alleged fixed match with Karpaty Lviv that took place in 2008. All of the foregoing instances of match-fixing by Ukrainian teams were intended to achieve a favourable result. These matches were arranged for sporting rather than for monetary purposes.