FC Kiryat Yam: Israeli Soccer Team Broke Records Before 17 Arrested Amid Match-Fixing Accusations

On Monday, 17 individuals were arrested as Israeli police allege soccer club FC Kiryat Yam is under the control of a criminal organization that buys and sells matches and launders money.

Police stated that the club has been fixing matches and placing bets on illegal gambling platforms in Israel and abroad. Tens of millions of shekels (millions of dollars) were allegedly placed on matches with known outcomes.

The club denies any wrongdoing. Chairman Nissim Tzarfati says the club is “1,000 percent legally managed.” In comments to the Israeli news site Ynet, he added, “I am shocked and don’t understand what they want from us. I don’t know who was arrested, and I don’t understand anything right now. Just in shock.”

One of those arrested is a current player. He has not been publicly identified, but says he was dragged from his bed at 5 a.m. Like his chairman, he protested his innocence, stating, “I am a law-abiding citizen, I never believed that I would be taken to the police station like this as a criminal. My family members can’t digest it. I hope this nightmare is over.”

Club Enjoys Unprecedented Run

The club is accused of manipulating match results over the past three years. During this time, it has risen to prominence in Israel. Police did not say how the matches had been manipulated. Rather than underperforming as is common in match-fixing scandals, including the recent college basketball scandal in the US, it appears the team has overperformed recently.

In 2022, the club had unprecedented success, winning all 22 league matches and the Liga Gemel title, the fifth and lowest tier of Israeli soccer. No club had ever achieved such a feat.

The next year, they claimed the title again, and the year after that. The club is now in third place in Liga Leumit, the second tier. If they finish in the top two this season, they will enter the Israeli Premier League.

Lawyers for some of those arrested say the investigation is part of a conspiracy to keep the club out of the Premier League.

Currently, the club is in third place in the table, two points behind the promotion places. At the start of the season, they were deducted four points for several violations of the league’s regulations. These included buying an advantage over its rivals.

Authorities had pressed for a 15-point deduction, but gave a more lenient punishment in the hope the club would change its ways. Board member Danny Altrovich was removed from his position. It is unclear if he has now been arrested.

Major Match-Fixing Scandal Broke Last Year

News broke of a major match-fixing scandal in the third tier last year. Israel Football Association Chairman Moshe Zuares said as many as half the teams in the league were involved in match-fixing. He also said that he was not talking about “rumors or speculation, but rather facts.”

Association prosecutor Gilad Berman said evidence had emerged of “a well-oiled system that operates in an organized and systematic manner that is fundamentally corrupting the sport we love, including young players.”

Fadi Mahamid, director of the Umm al-Fahm youth team, admitted to fixing 13 games in League A North during the 2023-2024 season. He gave a full confession, providing evidence to support his testimony and information about others involved in rigging games.

In addition to the scandal in Israel, Turkish soccer is also in the middle of a widespread betting scandal that has led to the arrests of several top-level players, referees, and club officials.

Zuares added, “We think of soccer as pure, but in practice the results are fixed behind closed doors.”