European soccer hit with Asian crime scandal

December 07, 2007 Soccer, Europe's favorite pastime, a broadcasting magnet and the center of a multibillion-dollar business, took a heavy blow this week after reports that Asian gambling syndicates might have fixed several key European club matches, scooping up millions in illicit bets. There also have been reports that some qualification matches for next year's European Cup -- a ratings giant across the continent -- might similarly have been manipulated by Asian organized crime. A spokesman for U.K. pay TV group British Sky Broadcasting, which together with free-to-air ITV pays UEFA about $180 million a year for Champions League rights, called reports of match fixing "completely hypothetical," saying there has been "only a whisper" of scandal surrounding European soccer.

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