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FIFA tells Der Spiegel to back up match-fixing claims

03/07/2014 from:SNTV

Intro:

FIFA expressed "substantial doubts" on Wednesday about a German magazine's claims that a World Cup game could have been fixed and asked it to provide evidence to back up its report.

Script:

World football's governing body has sent a stern message to the german magazine that reported possible match-fixing at the World Cup.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Delia Fischer, FIFA spokeswoman:

"FIFA has substantial doubts about the alleged manipulation published by Der Spiegel. As such, FIFA has requested Der Spiegel to provide us with all their communications with Perumal (convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal) and any other material they claim to possess in order to prove the allegation they have made in public. This article has put the integrity of the FIFA World Cup matches in question, which is a serious allegation.

"So far we have found no indication of any match manipulation on the betting market in relation to any of the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches. FIFA takes all such allegations very seriously and it is vital that the media and any other stakeholder handles such matters with the necessary respect and responsibility. All media organisations have a responsibility towards society, not to call peoples' or organisations' credibility into question just for a headline and without validating carefully any information."

Yesterday the man at the centre of the reports Wilson Raj Perumal denied the newspaper's claims. It's all getting very messy.

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