Although Cameroon had an early exit in the competition, their team name has still been making rounds because of an alleged match-fixing incident. The whistle blower now denies making the claims that the team's 4-0 defeat to Croatia was scripted. But Der Speigel, a German newspaper, still says that their report is true.
It was Wilson Raj Perumal, a veteran match- fixer, who told a Der Spiegel writer via Facebook chat that the game will be won by Croatia at 4-0, and a player from the Cameroon side will be ousted from the match. Obviously, both claims were correct.
Historically, international friendlies have been exposed to these kinds of match-fixing scandals by gangs in eastern Europe and east Asia. However, this is the first time that a said incident has touched the World Cup field. Because of its credibility, this match will be investigated by the Cameroon Football Federation.
Hoever, Perumal, the whistle blower, strongly denied his earlier claims. He said: "Contrary to the 'revelations' published by the German weekly Der Spiegel that were picked up by news outlets worldwide, I did not predict the result of the Cameroon v Croatia match played on June 18, 2014. The Facebook chat with the Der Spiegel journalist took place a few days after the match - 21 June, as confirmed by my Facebook log - and was but an informal assessment of the behaviour of the Cameroon team at the Brazil 2014 World Cup after they had played two of their three group stage matches, including the one with Croatia.
"At no time did I make reference to four goals being scored or to a red card being issued. At no time did I suggest that I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience. Last but not least: at no time was I informed by the Der Spiegel journalist that our chat was going to end up in the German publication.
"I am shocked and amazed that a respected magazine such as Der Spiegel would go so far as to fabricate statements by yours truly with the visible aim of stirring the row over match-fixing. I apologise to the Cameroon FA and to its fans if I inadvertently offended them; it was not my intention. I strongly believe that Der Spiegel should also do the same since they placed words in my mouth that I did not utter."
However, the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, rejected Perumal's statement. They said: "We firmly stand by our assertion that Mr Perumal wrote in a Facebook chat with Der Spiegel some hours before the World Cup match Croatia v Camerooon, that the result will be a 4-0 win to Croatia and that a Cameroon player will get a red card in the first half."
with reports from: www.theguardian.com
