Israeli Footballer Detained at Ben Gurion in Betting and Match-Fixing Probe

A footballer from Israel was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday on suspicion of large-scale gambling and systematic betting, and he has remained in custody since then. On Tuesday, Chief Inspector Yariv Feinberg, head of the sports bribery and gambling unit, gave new details about the investigation on Sport 5’s "5 on Air."

Feinberg said the arrest stemmed from a broader undercover investigation in northern Israel involving illegal betting on so-called "bets" and extortion, including a major case in Migdal HaEmek that led to 27 arrests last week. During that inquiry, investigators suspected one specific player of betting enormous sums, accumulating debts of hundreds of thousands of shekels, and allegedly trying to cover those debts by fixing matches. He said the police found the player’s funding sources and that the debts were very high, in the hundreds of thousands.

According to Feinberg, the case involves games in the Israeli National League, and it was transferred to his unit separately from the northern case. He said the police are working in full cooperation with the legal department of the Israel Football Association. "The player’s name came up in the undercover investigation before the arrests," he said, adding that the case was opened specifically against that footballer, but that more material is still being gathered and additional people may be summoned if needed.

Feinberg said there are indicators involving a team, but declined to elaborate. The court will decide on Thursday whether to extend the player’s detention. He also explained that the arrest happened at Ben Gurion because police received late-night intelligence that the player was on his way there and did not know he was about to leave earlier. The player’s father was also brought in and questioned under caution; Feinberg said there are several suspicions against him, though not of match-fixing, and that he also serves as his son’s agent. Feinberg added that the unit was established two months ago under Lahav 433 and is still being built up.