The European Union’s police agency said an 18-month review found 380 suspicious matches in Europe and another 300 questionable games outside the continent, mainly in Africa, Asia and South and Central America. It also found evidence that a Singapore-based crime syndicate was involved in some of the match-fixing.

Europol refused to name any suspected matches, players, officials or match-fixers, saying that would compromise ongoing national investigations, so it remained unclear how much of the information divulged Monday was new or had already been revealed in trials across the continent.

“This is a sad day for European football,” Europol director Rob Wainwright told reporters. He said criminals were cashing in on soccer corruption “on a scale and in a way that threatens the very fabric of the game.”

Europol’s probe uncovered 8 million euros ($10.9 million) in betting profits and 2 million euros ($2.7 million) in bribes to players and officials and has already led to several prosecutions.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said German investigator Friedhelm Althans, who also said two World Cup qualification matches in Africa and one in Central America were among those under suspicion.

Europol said 425 match officials, club officials, players and criminals from at least 15 countries were involved in fixing European soccer games dating back to 2008, and 50 people have already been arrested.

While the investigation’s “focus has been on other countries, not the United Kingdom,” Wainwright said, one of the two Champions League matches under suspicion took place in England “in the last three to four years.”

Neither UEFA, which oversees European soccer and organizes the Champions League, nor the English Football Association were aware of the probe and seemed surprised by the breadth of Europol’s accusations. UEFA said it expected to get more information on the investigation shortly.

“Once the details of these investigations are in UEFA’s hands, then they will be reviewed by the appropriate disciplinary bodies in order that the necessary measures are taken,” UEFA said in a statement.

Because of “ongoing judicial proceedings,” Wainwright refused to name which English Champions League match was being investigated, and the FA is also at a loss to know which one.

“The FA are not aware of any credible reports into suspicious Champions League fixtures in England, nor has any information been shared with us,” an FA spokesman said.

A Europol spokesman said he was unable to comment when asked why neither the FA nor UEFA had been informed.

Wainwright revealed the scale of the corruption in Germany, where $21.7 million was wagered on matches in the country with payments of $2.7 million believed to have been paid to those involved.

He said a Singapore-based criminal network was involved in the match-fixing, spending up to 100,000 euros ($136,500) per match to bribe players and officials.

“The ringleaders are of Asian origin, working closely together with European facilitators,” Europol said in a statement, but adding that “Russian-speaking” and other criminal gangs were also involved.

Ralf Mutschke, director of security at FIFA, the world soccer body, said the report highlighted the need for soccer authorities and police to tackle corruption together.

“The support of law enforcement bodies, legal investigations, and ultimately tougher sanctions are required, as currently there is low risk and high gain potential for the fixers,” he said.

Mutschke said while FIFA can ban players, referees and club officials, it is powerless to sanction people not directly involved in the sport.

“For people outside of football, currently the custodial sentences imposed are too weak and offer little to deter someone from getting involved in match-fixing,” he said.

Europol is not a police force but provides expertise and helps coordinate national police across the 27-nation European Union. It said 13 European countries were involved in this match-fixing investigation, pouring through 13,000 emails, paper trails, phone records and computer records.

Wainwright said while many fixed soccer matches were already known from criminal trials in Europe, the Europol investigation lifted the lid on the widespread involvement of organized crime.

“It is clear to us this is the biggest-ever investigation into suspected match-fixing in Europe,” he said. “It has yielded major results which we think have uncovered a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe.”

Wainwright said the soccer world needed a “concerted effort” to tackle the corruption.

Meanwhile, the Danish FA on Monday banned a player for six months for placing bets on a 2011 cup match in which he played. Kristoffer Wichmann, who plays for second-tier side FC Vestsjaelland, was deemed to have used middlemen to place bets on the match, although he is appealing against the ban.

Previous investigations have found that a World Cup qualifier between Liechtenstein and Finland in September 2009 was fixed by a referee from Bosnia, who UEFA banned for life.

Last year, UEFA expelled a Malta player implicated in fixing a European Championship qualifier between Norway and Malta in June 2007.

The post Europol probes huge match-fixing ring appeared first on IdealCapper.

The Bears have already sent out letters asking various teams for permission to interview candidates to fill Smith’s job.

The Bears missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons despite starting this season 7-1.

The Bears finished 10-6 but were denied a playoff spot when the Vikings beat the Packers on Sunday.

As reports of Smith’s ouster started to surface on Twitter, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was doing “The Jay Cutler Show” on ESPN 1000 and had to leave early.

“I think it’s going to be a sad day at Halas Hall,” Cutler said. “I have a lot of respect for the guy. He’s made friends with a lot of the players. He’s a players’ coach. I think right now I’m a little surprised, a little sad. Wish I could have done more offensively to help him out.”

The 54-year-old Smith, who led the Bears to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season, was 81-63 over eight regular seasons and was 3-3 in the playoffs.

Smith was under contract through 2013, and new general manager Phil Emery did not engage the coach in contract talks on an extension during the season.

Smith was particularly criticized for Chicago’s struggles on offense. Despite have a Pro Bowl receiver in Brandon Marshall and solid players in Cutler and running back Matt Forte, the Bears ranked 28th in total offense. Smith was a defensive coach, but Cutler wouldn’t say if he would prefer an offensive-minded coach to replace Smith.

“I’ve had both,” Cutler said. “There’s pluses and minuses to argue each case. I’m not going to give a preference on what I want, what I don’t want because I don’t really know at this point. I trust Phil and management and George (McCaskey) and those guys to make the best call. They’re going to get the best possible head coach and assistant coaches and coordinators as they can. So you’ve just got to trust in that.”

Smith also struggled to beat Green Bay. The Bears have lost eight of their last nine against the Packers and six straight.

The other big issue was the Bears’ poor finishes under Smith. Chicago lost seven straight December games since 2010 before snapping its skid with a Week 16 victory over the Cardinals. During Smith’s nine seasons, the Bears were 17-19 in December.

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