World Cup finals would be targeted by illegal betters

With just weeks before the big tournament, experts have warned that illegal gamblers would target the World Cup Finals despite FIFA mounting its biggest operation to combat match fixing.

Former Interpol chief Khoo Boon Hui has reportedly claimed that bold criminals would not be discouraged from attempting to rig games and experts have said that the size of any bribe will match the importance of the occasion.

Although football's governing body feels confident that steps taken to combat corruption would be effective in ensuring the World Cup's integrity, FIFA's own security director has admitted 'dead rubbers' towards the end of the group stages are among those most vulnerable, the Daily Express reported.

Hui said that why should the fixers be worried about fixing World Cup matches, adding that maybe the costs would be higher because the players get paid more and more, so one has to risk bribe money being higher.

Meanwhile, a research from the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) and Paris Sorbonne University reportedly claimed that football and cricket are the sports most at risk of match fixing.

The report said that around 84 billion-pounds were being laundered through betting out of which 80 percent is from illegal channels.

Moreover, FIFA's director of security Ralf Mutschke said that each match would be assessed through a risk management system by the football governing body, while betting markets would be monitored for irregularities.

Football fans have also been warned not to buy the thousands of counterfeit World Cup tickets being offered on unofficial websites as more than 2,000 tickets worth nearly 2,26,000 are for sale at online auctions or markets, flouting FIFA's transfer and resale policy, the report added.