Match-fixing suspicion: France to investigate a regional league match that ended 22-1

The disciplinary commission of the Mediterranean Football League will meet this Wednesday to open an investigation into the match between Arles and FC Septèmes in a regional championship that ended with a suspicious result of 22 goals to 1 last Sunday.

”I have asked my services to open a disciplinary process for suspected fraud (…) The dossier will be opened on Wednesday at the weekly meeting of the regional disciplinary commission”, explained the president of the Mediterranean League Eric Borghini.

The investigation should include the testimony of the match referee and the delegates and leaders of both Regional 2 clubs, which corresponds to the seventh category of French football. The process could take several weeks.

The result of the match drew particular attention as it allowed Arles to retake the championship lead, beating Martigues… on goal difference. Only the champion of this category will be promoted to Regional 1.

According to match witnesses, Septèmes fielded a team with usually substitute players and their goalkeeper was a regular outfield player. His coach also had to play, as well as another 50-year-old educator.

”We could have conceded 30 or 40 goals”, the president of Septèmes Salah Nasri admitted to the newspaper La Provence, specifying that the club “wants to finish the championship honestly, without retiring”.

For its part, Arles recalled in a statement that in this category there is a lot of inequality, “with subsidiary teams of National 2 clubs (4th category) and with numerous formations that line up only 11 players, sometimes veterans, even fifties”.