Footballer Sam Sodje’s family has reacted over reports in the media that the Nigerian was arrested over match-fixing allegations in the UK on Sunday.
The former Portsmouth defender was secretly filmed by an undercover reporter for The Sun on Sunday, describing how he was paid £70,000 to get a red card in a League One game.
The incident occurred in February during a match between Portsmouth and Oldham, when Sodje was sent off for punching Oldham’s Jose Baxter twice in the groin.
The National Crime Agency in England is already looking into video evidences supplied by The Sun on Sunday that Sodje said he could arrange for footballers in the Championship to get themselves booked during matches, in return for money.
The NCA said, “We can confirm that The Sun on Sunday has passed material from its own investigation to the NCA.
“An active NCA investigation is now under way and we are working closely with the Football Association and the Gambling Commission. Six people are in custody and are being questioned by NCA officers. We cannot comment further at this stage.”
Blackburn Rovers striker DJ Campbell and Sodje’s brothers Akpo and Steven alongside Ian Goodison and Cristian Montano are the other people allegedly arrested by the police in connection with the match-fixing scandal.
But the Sodje family denied the story, saying the former Reading defender was not arrested.
The statement titled ‘Re: Sam Sodje match-fixing claim’ read, “The true story so far is that there is an allegation of match fixing against Sam Sodje. An undercover reporter of The Sun newspaper contacted the police with this allegation.
“Sam was invited (by the police), he went with his lawyer to the Southampton Police Station, where he was interviewed and released. He was neither arrested nor charged.
“However, police investigation of the issue is ongoing. The family has decided against making any further statement on this issue so as not to interfere with the police investigation of the issue.”
In an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH in September, Sodje had said that Baxter used foul language against him during the encounter.
“I got sent off but he (Baxter) said something I didn’t like and I didn’t take it well. That is football. I won’t repeat it because he has seen me and apologised but he said something that wasn’t right.”
However, the 34-year-old was also filmed saying that he had arranged for another player to be paid £30,000 for getting a yellow card in a Championship match.
The former Nigerian international reportedly boasted that he could rig Premier League matches for betting fraudsters and was prepared to fix matches at next year’s World Cup. He claimed he could set up a bet an entire week before a game saying it was “easy.”
Sodje’s elder sibling, Efe, who also played for Nigeria, told our correspondent that the issue would be sorted out but refused to comment further.
“For now, I don’t have any comment until everything is sorted out. But we will provide you with a statement tomorrow (Tuesday),” Efe said.
Credit: punch
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