Blatter: Most Europol cases were already handled

NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA (AP) - Most allegations of match-fixing raised by Europol this week had already been dealt with, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Thursday.

"Most of the matches which they put in this tray, 600 or 800, have already been analyzed, dealt with and even were at court," Blatter said.

At Europol's briefing in the Netherlands on Monday, the police liaison agency said it knew of 380 suspicious matches played in Europe in recent years and 300 more worldwide, including national team matches under FIFA's jurisdiction.

Europol did not identify matches it suspected were corrupted, fuelling widespread speculation about which teams were involved and if new allegations had been uncovered.

Blatter acknowledged that match-fixing for illegal betting scams was "pure delinquency," which presented a serious danger to the sport.

"We're fighting against that," Blatter said in French. "Because if the matches are fixed, there's no more interest in going to watch football."

Blatter also said countries should change their laws to help soccer prosecute match-fixing cases.

He spoke a day after FIFA launched a website for whistleblowers to report suspicions of fixing and corruption among its 209 member nations.

The FIFA leader visited Mauritania on a tour of African countries before attending the Cup of Nations final Sunday in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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