Israeli police have arrested 17 members of a football club on suspicion of match-fixing, bribery, illegal gambling and money laundering, following an undercover investigation that spanned several months, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The probe was conducted together with the Israel Football Association and focused on alleged organised criminal activity carried out over the past three years.
Dozens of officers carried out coordinated dawn raids on Monday, detaining active players and senior club officials who are suspected of assisting a criminal organisation to manipulate match outcomes.
Police said the group allegedly exploited the team as a platform to influence results and profit from illegal betting operations both inside Israel and overseas.
According to investigators, the suspects are believed to have participated in schemes in which matches were deliberately bought or sold to predetermine outcomes.
These outcomes were then used to place bets with the result already known, generating significant illicit profit for the network. Police described the conduct as a systematic effort to distort sporting integrity for financial gain.
Early findings indicate that tens of millions of shekels may have moved through the operation. Police also mentioned suspicions regarding the use of double contracts to conceal payments and other financial irregularities linked to the betting scheme.
The arrests mark one of the most significant enforcement actions against alleged match-fixing in recent years. Investigators are continuing to examine financial records, betting activities and communications between the suspects and the wider criminal network.
Further arrests or charges may follow as the inquiry progresses.
The team has been widely identified in local media as F.C. Kiryat Yam, although police have not confirmed this
