British bookmakers are convinced Tuesday’s UEFA Cup match between Greek side Panionios and Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi was fixed.

Their belief stems from the strange betting patterns before the match, which Panionios won 5-2 after trailing 1-0 at halftime.

“I have no doubt that this was a betting coup,” said Graham Sharpe at William Hill.

“But whether it was a betting coup based on a fixed result is another matter.”

“You often see unusual betting patterns that you can subsequently put down to a bandwagon effect.”

British bookmakers have increasingly exploited the possibilities offered by the internet to take themselves into new markets.

“This was a worldwide coup,” said Caspar Hill at online firm Betfair.

“To have so many people calling up asking about a 5-2 result is very unusual to say the least,” Hill added.

“My own view is that the traditional bookmakers were getting worried and tried to hedge their positions with Betfair.”

“A few years ago this match would have been inconsequential but we now have clients in these markets and feel obliged to offer odds,” said Sharpe.

UEFA officials confirmed that they were gathering information but had not yet launched an official investigation.

Panionios and Dinamo Tbilisi have both rejected match-fixing allegations.