84 Soccer Matches Marked Suspicious by SIS in First Half of 2022

Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) has raised awareness that according to data from the period from January 1 to June 30, 2022, there are 84 soccer matches that after the company’s analysis were defined as suspicious of match-fixing.

The 84 Matches Make Up 0.45% of the Analyzed Matches

SIS analyzed a total of 18,845 soccer matches worldwide that were played during the first six months of 2022. 0.45% or 84 of these were considered suspicious. This means that it is highly probable that these matches were subject to match-fixing. This is based on suspicious betting patterns in connection with the matches. Naturally, the diversity of the evidence found suggests various levels of suspicion but all matches categorized in this way will be subject to further and more elaborate investigation.  

According to the data from SIS, the 84 suspicious soccer matches were played in 30 different countries, however, most of them or 49% (41 matches) were played in Europe. Asia came second with 21 suspicious matches or 25%. An interesting fact is that 6% or 5 of the 84 matches were friendly soccer matches, which means that match-fixing could also spread to non-competitive games. Only 12 or 14% of the matches were international events.

Top-level Soccer Matches Feature Too Prominently in the Suspicious Category

What SIS found worrying, however, was that 26 of the soccer matches or 31% were part of the top-level domestic leagues in various countries. Head of Starlizard Integrity Services, Affy Sheikh, expressed his concern about this data:

It is also deeply worrying to see top-level domestic competitions featuring so prominently amongst these suspicious matches, which perhaps dispels the common misconception that match manipulation tends to occur only in the lower leagues.

Head of Starlizard Integrity Services, Affy Sheikh

Sheikh reminded that in order to defeat match-fixing, a concentrated effort must be done. Sheikh also highlighted that the number of suspicious matches corresponds to the previous two years, so there is no significant development. Yet he underlined the importance of fighting this vicious trend and protecting the integrity of the sport. He commented that the analytical data provides significant insight that proves the need for a concentrated effort toward eradicating match-fixing on all levels of soccer.

Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) is part of British sports betting consultant Starlizard. It was formed as a separate division specializing only in integrity services in 2017 after Starlizard started offering such services in 2010. SIS offers a unique combination of research and analytics and detailed market insight and knowledge.