The announcement, made by the Chairman of the Belgian Professional League, follows a VRT\’s television programme that denounced 14 players and coaches from several clubs as linked to a Shanghai-based betting ring.
“One team is bad, but three or four is a disaster. But we will hand down the same punishment, no matter how many teams are involved,” said Jean-Marie Philips, Chairman of the Belgian Professional League.
“Any club found guilty will be thrown out,” he added.
Last November, the Belgian police started its own investigation into match-fixing after that internet betting exchange Betfair reported of unusually heavy betting patterns for La Louviere\’s 3-1 win over St Truiden.
Both La Louviere and St Truiden denied any involvement.
In separate news, Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has ordered a police inquiry into whether state funds have been used in a multimillion-dollar soccer betting scandal.
“In particular, the prime minister ordered them to quickly find the source of major amounts of funds used in football betting rings uncovered recently,” said a cabinet official.
According to media reports, Bui Tien Dung, Director General at the Ministry of Transport, was accused of spending several million dollars in bets on English Premier League and Spanish Liga matches, including roughly $1.8 million in December alone.
UPDATE: A Belgian newspaper identified in Eric Thomas, a 44-year old close to Le Louviere\’s entourage, as the anonymous witness that denounced several members of the club as being linked to the Chinese gambling mafia.
Thomas is believed to have sought assistance from Belgian judicial authorities as he fears for his life.
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