Premier League footballers have been accused of match-fixing by the former head of a specialist international crime unit, who alleges key evidence has been left to gather dust.
Fredrik Gardare, who once led a Swedish police team investigating organised crime in sport, has claimed a 2021 raid on an illegal casino uncovered incriminating material linking players in England’s top flight to betting scams.
He says the findings – which allegedly include Telegram messages between footballers and a criminal fixer – have been ignored despite the potential impact on domestic and international football.
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In an interview with the Daily Mail, Gardare said the discovery was the most 'clear-cut' case of corruption he had seen in a career that spanned hundreds of investigations.
Fredrik Gardare (pictured left), who once led a Swedish police team investigating organised crime in sport, has claimed a 2021 raid on an illegal casino uncovered incriminating material linking players in England’s top flight to betting scams
|GETTY
“It was very high priority from my side, I set my whole team on this investigation,” he explained.
“But at the same time, the police said, ‘We are finished with this’ in December that year.”
According to Gardare, multiple mobile phones were seized during the raid, but one in particular contained extensive conversations about fixing games across Europe, including Nations League fixtures.
“There was more than one Premier League player (found on the phone),” he claimed.
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“Betting on yellow cards, corners and other aspects in matches. That phone is either sitting with Stockholm police or the national police force.”
Gardare insists the evidence should have been acted upon immediately, either by the Swedish authorities or by passing the material to their English counterparts.
“We also gave the information to the football federation here in Sweden directly and said, ‘This is serious’. Hopefully they called the English FA, but I don’t know,” he said.
“This is important for both Swedish football and football in several countries. It’s important for England and international football to stop ongoing match-fixing.”
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Fredrik Gardare (pictured second from left) was once the head of an international crime investigation unit in Sweden
|GETTY
The Football Association has not received any material from the Swedish police, though officials are said to be keen to review the findings, according to the Mail.
The revelations inevitably raise questions about how widespread such activity might be, and whether sanctions will follow.
Gardare is frustrated that the case was dropped, particularly given his previous success in exposing corruption.
He oversaw the 18-month inquiry that ended with former Manchester City midfielder Dickson Etuhu being found guilty of bribery in Sweden and banned from football for five years.
Yet this latest investigation was effectively halted when his unit was disbanded, leaving the alleged evidence untouched.
“I have worked on hundreds of match-fixing cases, and this was the clearest case you could have,” he said.
“It doesn’t get any clearer than being found on a confiscated mobile phone.
"It is a very good opportunity to do something about this.”
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Dickson Etuhu was banned for five years
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The Swedish FA confirmed they had been alerted to the case in late 2021 but stressed they were not given specific details.
Integrity officer Johan Claesson said: “It is correct that the Swedish FA, back in 2021, received general intelligence from the police that they had found information regarding match-fixing on both national and international level in a phone after a raid against an illegal casino, but the intelligence we received did not contain any specifics (due to the secrecy of the on-going police investigation) that we could act on.”