UEFA suspended top Bulgarian referee Anton Genov as it investigates him for allegedly helping to fix an international friendly in a betting coup.
UEFA said on Tuesday it will not appoint Genov to a European match — an international, Champions League or Europa League fixture — during the investigation.
There were “obvious irregular betting patterns” during a Nov. 14 friendly between Macedonia and Canada, UEFA said.
“After interviewing the referee in question, UEFA has decided not to appoint Anton Genov to any European matches until further notice,” UEFA spokesman Rob Faulkner said in a statement.
Genov awarded four penalties, two to each side, during Macedonia’s 3-0 victory in Strumica.
Betting operators reportedly were alerted by the number of wagers placed on at least three goals being scored and on the number of penalties awarded.
Canada coach Stephen Hart said his memory of the officiating was Genov calling a “tight, tight” game.
“Anything was really a foul. It was along those lines, any sort of contact was a foul,” he told the Canadian Press on Tuesday.
“The penalty situation, it was just odd that four penalties would be called,” Hart said. “But having said that, other than that I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I just thought we’re playing away from home and you’re getting these calls that are consistent with playing away from home.”
The 43-year-old Genov has been on world governing body FIFA’s list of referees approved to take charge of international matches since 1999.
Referees must be on the list to be considered for selection to officiate at World Cup finals.
UEFA said last month it was investigating three top referees as part of Europe’s biggest ever match-fixing probe.
German police specializing in fraud and organized crime are leading the investigation which involves more than 200 matches in at least 11 countries.
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino described match-fixing as a “cancer we need to eradicate.”
On Monday, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) fired its referee commission which has responsibility for appointing officials to matches and assessing their performance.
The BFU cited a series of mistakes made by referees in league and cup matches.
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