Seven persons were arrested on Wednesday 25 February and have been charged with gross corruption and fraud linked to betting on football matches.

This was stated by Police Prosecutor Sahd Iqbal to NRK on Friday.

– There is no reason to believe that this has had any impact whatsoever on match outcomes or results. The matches as such have not been fixed. The suspicion relates to the manipulation of individual situations, says Iqbal.

Two of those charged play for the Eliteserien club KFUM Oslo. Yesterday the club published a statement about the case on its website. VG writes that the brothers Bilal Njie (27) and Moussa Njie (30) are charged with gross corruption and fraud. The brothers’ mother has Somali background. Bilal was selected for Somalia’s national team squad in 2023.

Usama Ahmad and Jonas Berge of Elden Advokatfirma represent the two footballers.

– He was arrested, searched and then quickly released. I have not yet been granted access to the case documents and therefore cannot comment further on what the police base their assessments on. This has been a highly burdensome situation, and the identification in the media at such an early stage makes it even more demanding, says lawyer Ahmad in a statement on behalf of his client reproduced by NTB.

Berge’s client has no understanding of the charge.

– This is a shocking experience for him, and the extensive media exposure makes the situation considerably more demanding.

Iqbal informed VG on Friday that searches have been carried out at several addresses in connection with the case, and that the police have made several seizures that are relevant. The investigation is still in an early phase, but is described as high priority.

It was a tip from the international monitoring body IBIA that set the Norwegian Gambling and Foundation Authority (Lotteri- og stiftelsestilsynet) on the trail of the case that is now unfolding, according to the Authority’s Director of Communications and Strategy, Terje Gilleshammer.

– We retrieved betting histories in cooperation with the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF), and on that basis we notified the police, says Gilleshammer.

The NFF’s Secretary General, Karl-Petter Løken, told NTB on Friday that the federation was aware of the case.

– The NFF has been informed by the police, and this is an incredibly regrettable case for all involved and for Norwegian football as a whole. We emphasise that the case is now under investigation, and no one has as yet been convicted.

KFUM’s Managing Director, Thor-Erik Stenberg, says that the players are deeply affected. The charged brothers are not permitted to participate in training sessions or matches for KFUM as long as they are charged and under investigation.

– This is of course a matter we take with the utmost seriousness. Match-fixing or betting linked to individual incidents runs counter to everything we and football stand for, Stenberg told NTB.

Stenberg emphasises that there is no reason to believe that players other than those charged are involved in the case.