FAI opens inquiry into match fixing

Longford Town chairman Jim Hanley last night declined to name the player suspended as part of an investigation into match fixing but said that he did not believe the outcome of any game had actually been affected.

"The club received some information relating to a possible conspiracy and in conjunction with the FAI are now mounting an investigation but we don't believe that Longford Town has been involved in match fixing of any kind," he told The Irish Times .

Hanley was speaking after the FAI confirmed that an investigation had been initiated after officials at the club approached it with the information received. The association said that it had “shared all information with relevant partners including Uefa, Fifa and An Garda Síochána and will continue to do so while it conducts inquiries and interviews. The association will ensure that all necessary measures are taken to uphold the integrity of the sport.”

A number of meetings took place yesterday between the association’s disciplinary regulations officer, Cliodhna Guy, and its integrity officer, Fran Gavin, who is also director of competition, including those in which Longford play.

At the start of February, when a major international report into the issue of match fixing appeared to suggest that it had not yet become a problem in Ireland, Gavin said that: “It’s something that’s crept into football worldwide over the last number of years and we’d be very naive to think that our league wouldn’t be a target for something like that, especially with ours being a summer league.”