Finland football game sparks match-fixing concerns

A third-division football game in Finland has caused match-fixing suspicions, and for a country in the midst of overhauling its gambling system this may lead to further concern. HIFK welcomed Atlantis to their Töölö home arena last week. The match produced a total of eight goals, with HIFK losing a 3-1 division in the first half only for Atlantis to turn it back around to 3-5. However, the Football Association of Finland, together with private entities that monitor sports betting, have reportedly detected some suspicious betting activity. For local news outlet Hufvudstadsbladet (HBL), Kaj Björkqvist, Integrity Officer at the Finnish Football Association, said: “We have received information from several official sources that may indicate match-fixing. We are currently investigating the suspicions. This is terribly sad. It kills competitive sport.” As Björkqvist pointed out, it is understood that investigations into the potential match-fixing are underway, with international integrity monitoring bodies also being involved. Markku Ritala, General Manager of Atlantis FC, told HBL that his team scoring four goals in the later minutes of the game did not feel natural, and to him it felt like there were some external powers involved. “The fact that we managed to turn 3–1 into 3–5 feels unbelievable – we are not that much better than HIFK. It makes you think that perhaps we received help from someone on the other side. Some fairly easy goals went in on that end as well.” Surprisingly though, HBL reported that the alerts raised with Finland’s FA are all concerning Atlantis “and none are directed at HIFK”. Joona Haavisto, Manager of the HIFK men’s team, told the outlet: “Our club hopes that the case will be thoroughly investigated. If anyone is found guilty of cheating, we hope that they receive the strictest possible punishment. We must get rid of people who engage in this, he says. “Match-fixing is football’s cancer. All of us involved in football should fight it together. This is terribly sad. It kills competitive sport and is so wrong towards everyone who enjoys honest football.” Finland is one of the few European countries that has an active football calendar throughout the summer. Its lower leagues are also less scrutinised given their low-profile. The HIFK-Atlantis game, for example, hosted no more than a thousand fans at the stadium, HBL added. Antti Koivula, Chief Compliance Officer at Hippos ATG, told the outlet that despite their small size, the lower-tier leagues can bring bettors large sums of money if they know what they’re doing. “The range is wide. If it is someone who knows what they are doing, a total of €20,000 to €500,000 can be wagered on a second-division match. If amateurs are behind it, you can remove at least the final zeroes.” Match-fixing plagues football Cases of suspicious match-fixing in football are not a rarity. In fact, assessments from integrity monitoring watchdogs like the International Betting Integrity Association and Sportradar often rank football as the most at-risk sport of betting manipulation globally. In Finland, FC Finnkurd was expelled from the Men’s Division 3 earlier in February after a two-year investigation over match-fixing. Back in 2024, Finnish media interviewed two young Brazilians who were promised a European future by the club, only to allegedly be asked to “do what the Chinese investors say” once they arrived at the grounds. Elsewhere, a number of lower-tier games sanctioned by the German Football Union were also investigated over reports of suspicious betting in 2024, signalling that the issue is not isolated to Finland. As in most cases of match-fixing or attempted match-fixing, the targets in Finland are the lower leagues – where lower pay often makes players more vulnerable and/or susceptible to match-fixing and illicit betting. Finland is due to launch Europe’s newest open gambling market in July 2027, ending the long-established monopoly of the state-owned betting, gaming and lotteries company, Veikkaus Oy. Sports integrity and safeguarding has been written into the legislation. However, there are concerns that the new framework overall will need secondary amendments made once the market goes live. Concerns over sports integrity could shadow the market as it develops post-2027.