Three Gold Cup games under investigation for match-fixing

Three games at this summer's Gold Cup in the United States are currently being investigated for alleged match-fixing, according to German magazine Der Spiegel.

The regional confederation, CONCACAF, along with football's governing body FIFA and Interpol are looking into suspicious betting patterns in Asia for the three unidentified matches.

Spiegel Online is reporting that large sums were bet on high-scoring encounters. Two of the matches ended 5-0, with the other finishing 4-0.

Mexico has defeated El Salvador and Cuba 5-0 while Costa Rica also beat Cuba by the same scoreline.

Two games have ended 4-0; Jamaica and Guatemala both recorded victories against Grenada in the group stages of the competition.

The Gold Cup began on June 5 and finishes on June 25. Teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean take part in the competition, which is held every two years.

Meanwhile, the arrest of a Singaporean man in Malaysia is said to be one of the most significant match-fixing related arrests to date.

Rajendran Kurusamy was arrested by Malaysian police after FIFA officials had passed on his details due to alleged match-fixing in under-20 clashes.

His arrest follows that of his compatriot, Wilson Raj Perumal who was arrested a fortnight ago alongside nine players from Zambia and Georgia for fixing games in the Finnish league.

FIFA head of security, Chis Eaton has spoken of the importance of Kurusamy's arrest, telling Bloomberg, "He's potentially more significant than Perumal."

"We're seeing an explosion in the investigation and detection of match-fixing. My estimation is this is because there's more awareness of match-fixing and more recognition by police agencies to eradicate it."

FIFA has recently set up an Early Warning System in an attempt to detect suspicious betting patterns in their early stages, while the organization has also given Interpol over 20 million euros in the last 10 years to help tackle the problem.

According to the World Lottery Association, the estimated worth of match-fixing is said to be over 60 billion euros.