THE arrest of 10 Southern Stars club personnel sent shockwaves through the Victorian Premier League on Sunday.
Victoria Police revealed it had “smashed a multi-million dollar match-fixing ring”, in which it is alleged Southern Stars was directly involved in match-fixing practices within the VPL.
The Stars have been perched on the bottom of the VPL table for much of the season and until the weekend had yielded just one win and four draws from 21 appearances, with a whopping goal difference of -43.
Their only win came last month against top-placed Northcote City, while all four clashes against Green Gully and Melbourne Knights resulted in losses.
Green Gully football manager Raymond Mamo told Star he had no reason to be suspicious after both meetings (including a 3-0 result late last month) between the Stars and Cavaliers.
“It’s disappointing,” Mamo said.
“Anything that is done illegally is obviously not a good thing but the police are investigating it, the FFV (Football Federation Victoria) and FFA (Football Federation Australia) are aware of it and they’ll take the appropriate action or whatever is necessary.
“It doesn’t concern us at all.”
Melbourne Knights last met Southern Stars in mid-August for a 1-0 win, and had beaten the Stars 3-0 earlier in the year.
Knights football operations manager Simon Pincic told Star of the shock felt not only in his own club but in the wider VPL community.
“I think we’re all just a bit shocked and want to see what happens in the next few days,” Pincic said.
The FFV itself admitted it was shocked after becoming aware of the situation via media reports on Sunday morning.
“FFV is shocked by today’s turn of events as this is an unprecedented scenario for the Victorian football community,” FFV president Nick Monteleone said in a statement.
“We commend Victoria Police for their actions and obviously will fully support their ongoing investigations.”
The statement also revealed the FFV was set to make further determinations on the impact any potential sanctions could have on the VPL season – which is on the verge of its finals series.
“FFA and FFV will finalise appropriate action to be taken against Southern Stars Football Club over the coming days … this is a complex matter,” Monteleone said.
“FFV management are currently assessing any implications associated with the 2013 VPL finals series and will make an announcement tomorrow (Monday, afte Star went to press).”
