ENGLAND’S World Cup qualifying group has been rocked by claims of match fixing.
Fifa is probing Lithuania’s 2-0 win over Malta, 19 days ago, after Dele Alli helped the Three Lions defeat them days earlier.
Malta’s goalkeeper has told how a Fifa official marched into his side’s dressing room before kick-off to warn their World Cup qualifier might be fixed.
Stopper Andrew Hogg and team-mates were alerted over suspicious betting patterns.
Fifa also visited Lithuania players and the referee before the match.
Malta lost 2-0 on October 11, the night England drew 0-0 in Slovenia.
Betting syndicates staked millions before kick-off and during the game on Malta to lose by two or more.
An inquiry is underway and the group could be thrown into chaos if Fifa unearths any wrongdoing, with results possibly voided and games replayed.
London-born Andrew, 31, said of the match commissioner’s visit: “It was strange and felt very uncomfortable — as if we were being accused of cheating.
“I knew I’d done absolutely nothing wrong and had no idea what they were talking about.
“But I was left thinking, ‘If I f*** up now I might end up in the police station.’
“In the event, there was nothing I could do about the goals. I made three or four good saves which show I was doing my best. I have absolutely nothing to hide.
“But this could really mess up the group because no one knows what might happen next. It’s a bulls**t situation.”
The match came three days after caretaker boss Gareth Southgate took charge of his first game for England, also against Malta.
Dele Alli, whose girlfriend is undies model Ruby Mae, and Daniel Sturridge scored in that 2-0 win.
Sources say crooks took advantage of the hype over England’s next match in Slovenia to try to fix Lithuania vs Malta the same night.
In the match in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius, the hosts took the lead with a 75th-minute header.
Seven minutes later they scored a penalty with defender Jonathan Caruana, who had just been booked, sent off for appearing to shove and punch a player.
Malta, bottom of Group F which also contains Scotland, had no shots on target and only 35 per cent of possession.
The match was refereed by Spaniard Jesús Gil Manzano.
There is no suggestion he, any other match officials or the players have done anything wrong.
A source who alerted The Sun on Sunday to the potential fix said big changes in the pre-match odds were picked up by Fifa’s early-warning system and a red alert created.
The source added: “Fifa alerted both teams and the referee that the betting patterns had been noted. It was minutes before kick-off, but the match was allowed to go ahead.”
A source in the Malta FA confirmed: “Some ten minutes before kick-off, just after the warm-up, the official came and read a communication from Fifa.
“I have never seen this before. It was very strange to have someone come in and say these things.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to happen just before the game.”
The Sun on Sunday has been shown the in-play betting patterns.
With six minutes left the odds for a second goal signalled an abnormally high chance of it occurring.
Anti match-fixing firm FederBet also recorded the betting market.
Director Francesco Baranca said: “When we were watching the odds we could see something was wrong.
It’s not a surprise and nothing does surprise us. We received the records from the bookmakers and we checked them out to make sure the patterns were suspicious.”
Asked about the penalty, Andrew Hogg said yesterday: “If you sit down and think about it you can see why people would be suspicious and it is a sad situation.
“But I’m not aware of any players being involved in any wrongdoing that would tarnish the image of football.”
Sports integrity firm Sportradar is helping with Fifa’s probe. Both declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing. England top Group F after three matches, Lithuania are second.
An FA source said: “It’s something we will monitor from afar should the matter progress further.”
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Asian gangs often target smaller games to make millions. In 2013 Europol claimed a Singapore-based syndicate had directed match-fixing for at least 380 games in Europe alone, making at least £6.9million.
Malta FA president Norman Darmanin Demajo said: “The evaluation of the report says there was overwhelming evidence that people in betting had prior knowledge that Malta would lose by at least two goals.”
A Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) spokesman said: “We were only made aware of this matter a few days after the game following public statements made by the Maltese FA.
“There hasn’t been any suggestion or suspicions from Fifa regarding any involvement of anyone related to our team. We hope the investigations will be concluded swiftly by the relevant authorities.”
An LFF source said inquiries should be directed at Malta adding: “We don’t see this as our problem.
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