17 members of Israeli soccer team arrested in match-fixing probe

The Israel Police have confirmed that 17 people affiliated with a soccer team in Israel’s second-tier league have been arrested in a match-fixing and money laundering probe.

Those arrested include current players and senior administrators of the team on suspicion they were involved in match-fixing over a period of several years, police say.

Police did not identify the team, saying only that they played in the National League, Israel’s second division. However, Hebrew media reports say the team is F.C. Kiryat Yam, based in a town near Haifa.

Those arrested are also suspected of ties to a criminal organization that is believed to have used the club to launder millions of shekels, including through illicit gambling and signing multiple contracts with players, police say.

According to the Israel Police, the probe, conducted in conjunction with the Israel Football Association, focused on alleged criminal activity spanning the past three years. Dozens of officers raided the suspects’ homes early Monday and brought them in for questioning.

“The criminal organization used the team as a platform to commit criminal offenses, including suspicion of skewing results, buying and selling games for the purpose of profiting from illegal gambling, and suspicions of double contracts,” police said.

Investigators allege that matches were deliberately bought or sold and then used to place bets with outcomes already known in advance. “After it was possible to know the outcome of the bet, the bets were made with the outcome already known,” the police stressed.

Police estimate that tens of millions of shekels were funneled through the scheme.