European police warned Monday that the integrity of football was at stake, as they revealed they had unearthed a criminal network fixing hundreds of matches, including in the Champions League and World Cup qualifiers. Europol said a five-country probe had identified 380 suspicious matches targeted by a Singapore-based betting cartel, whose illegal activities stretched to players, referees and officials across the world at all levels of the game.

European police warned Monday that the integrity of football was at stake, as they revealed they had smashed a criminal network fixing hundreds of matches, including in the Champions League and World Cup qualifiers. Europol said a five-country probe had identified 380 suspicious matches targeted by a Singapore-based betting cartel, whose illegal activities stretched to players, referees and officials across the world at all levels of the game.

Police have smashed a criminal network suspected of fixing 380 football matches, including in the Champions League and World Cup qualifiers, Europol announced on Monday. "It is clear to us that this is the biggest investigation ever into suspected match fixing," Europol chief Rob Wainwright told journalists. At least 425 referees, players and other officials are suspected of involvement, with matches rigged so that major sums of money could be won through betting.