Convicted Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal on Tuesday denied he had predicted the result of the Cameroon-Croatia FIFA World Cup group-stage game, after a report that he had forecast the European side’s 4-0 victory and a red card issued during it sparked a matchfixing investigation.
Perumal said he was “shocked and amazed” at reports of his actions and apologized to Cameroon, according to a statement he released through Italian investigative journalist Web site Invisible Dog.
The allegations were reported by German weekly Der Spiegel and the Cameroon Football Federation has since launched an inquiry.
However, Perumal said he only gave an “informal assessment” of the Cameroon-Croatia game in a Facebook conversation with a journalist from the magazine.
“At no time did I make reference to four goals being scored or to a red card being issued,” he said. “At no time did I suggest that I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience.”
Perumal said he was not told the comments would be published.
“I am shocked and amazed that a respected magazine such as Der Spiegel would go so far as to fabricate statements,” he added. “I apologize to the Cameroon FA [football association] and to its fans if I inadvertently offended them; it was not my intention.”
Perumal called on the publication to apologize. He is now in Hungary under police protection and says he has “turned a new leaf” and is seeking to end his life as a match-fixer. He was arrested in Finland in 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison. He is also wanted in Singapore.
He said he wanted to share his “expertise” with “those willing to truly fight the scourge of match-fixing. When the time is ripe I will share what I know with FIFA and UEFA, but I will not accept that my statements be manipulated at the detriment of others.”
FIFA on Tuesday said it will let the Cameroon authorities lead the hunt for “seven bad apples” implicated in the article, but aside from that soccer’s world governing body has refused to comment on the case or whether its security department is investigating too.
The Cameroonian government has since ordered an inquiry into the Indomitable Lions’ disastrous World Cup campaign, with local paper Le Jour saying soccer leaders, officials and team captain Samuel Eto’o have been summoned by police.
However, former Cameroon goalkeeper Joseph Antoine Bell dismissed the allegations, saying: “It’s crazy. I cannot see anyone normal who would want to corrupt this team. I cannot believe that someone would be tempted to corrupt a team that is losing.”
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