A criminal ring suspected of fixing 380 matches, including World Cup qualifying games, has been smashed by police in Europe.

The matches included European Championship qualifiers, two Champions League games and some top flight league matches.

One Champions League match played in England was among the games fixed.

Rob Wainwright, head of the European police agency Europol, said the investigation had identified about 425 corrupt officials, players and serious criminals in 15 countries.

It had uncovered "match fixing activity on a scale we have not seen before", he said.

Most of the fixed matches were played in Turkish, German and Swiss championships, but other matches around the world are also concerned.

Inquiries found evidence that a Singapore-based crime group was closely involved, spending up to 100,000 euros (£86,000) per match to bribe players and officials.

The suspected countries in which those matches were held are, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, and other South American nations.

[link to www.lbc.co.uk]