Greek club Panionios has rejected allegations that their 5-2 UEFA Cup win over Dinamo Tbilisi, was fixed.
“We were surprised to read a story in a British medium….that our team was involved in rigging the result against Dinamo Tbilisi,” the club said in a statement.
“We are ready to cooperate in order not to find the guilty parties because there are no guilty parties, but to find those who wanted to defame soccer and Panionios,” it said.
“This great win by our club was referred to on UEFA’s website as an advertisement for soccer.”
Panionios beat the Georgian team 5-2 in Athens on Wednesday.
U.K. betting companies noted unusually heavy betting on exactly such a scenario and have called for an investigation.
UEFA officials said they were gathering information on the night’s events.
“At the moment we are in the process of gathering information from various sources. Based on that we will decide whether we need to open an investigation or not,” a UEFA spokesman said.
“Panionios is at the disposal of the Greek FA and UEFA and will provide any information to shed light on this case,” the club said in a letter to the Greek Football Association.
“Panionios will assist the investigations of the representatives of the European Federation so that those responsible, if there are any, can be found.”
