Belarus Extraliga Championship Game Immediately Raised Suspicions

Published on July 8th, 2020 12:06 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Earlier this week, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended seven players after an investigation into match-fixing allegation in a Belarus Extraliga Championship game.

On November 12th, 2019, Mogilyov defeated Dynamo Molodechno by a score of 6-5.

The result of the game was unusual, as Dinamo Molodechno had been leading by a score of 5-2 heading into the third and final period.

At that point, the wheels fell off, and HK Mogilev ended up winning by a score of 6-5 after scoring four unanswered goals in the third period.

The day after the game, the Belarus department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation.

Seven players were found to have received money in order to influence the outcome of the game. All seven players admitted their role in the scheme.

While we don't know exactly what happened, you can assume that a bettor conspired with the players and then put down a sizeable "in-play betting" wager on Mogilyov to win the game.

Given the Mogilyov was trailing by three goals heading into the third period, you can assume that somebody make a small fortune when Dinamo Molodechno ended up losing the game.

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All seven players have now been suspended by the IIHF and will need to face the Disciplinary Board to receive their punishments.

The seven players are:

Pavel Boyarchuk
Stanislav Kuchkin
Vyacheslav Lisichkin
Alexei Ivanov
Nikita Ustinenko
Sergei Sheleg
Alexander Syrei

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With online betting companies offering wagering on leagues and games throughout the world, the temptation to rig an outcome becomes much higher, as it would be much easier to get a large amount of money down on a game such as this.

Great job to Belarus for quickly identifying the scheme.

Source: IIHF.com - Match-fixing suspensions in Belarus