Israeli Premier-League Player Arrested in Match-Fixing and Gambling Probe

Israeli police said Sunday morning that they arrested an active football player from a top-division club on suspicion of large-scale illegal gambling, match-fixing, money laundering offenses, and tax violations committed together with others. Investigators said additional suspects and people involved in the case are expected to be questioned.

The arrest is part of a wider investigation into a gang from Migdal HaEmek, led by the Northern District unit of Lahav 433. Police said the latest arrest follows earlier detentions carried out last week in the same probe.

The case is being handled by Lahav 433’s National Economic Crime Unit, together with its sports bribery and gambling squad, and police said it is being conducted in full coordination with the Israel Football Association. According to the suspicion, the player who was arrested had been systematically placing illegal bets in a way that was, in police words, "not befitting his status as an active player in a senior club."