European betting operators give World Cup all-clear, find no suspicious bets on matches

Betting operators give World Cup the all-clear

BRUSSELS — European betting operators say they found no evidence of suspicious wagers made on World Cup soccer matches.

Bookmakers’ monitoring system, the European Sports Security Association, said Tuesday that it investigated bets made before and during the monthlong tournament for possible links to attempts at match-fixing.

The ESSA is part of a network of early warning systems alerting FIFA and other sports federations to betting-related corruption.

FIFA said last week it found no indication of attempts to fix any of the 64 World Cup matches.

FIFA operated a telephone hot line in South Africa for players, referees and officials to report approaches by match-fixers.