Match-fixing probe: 680 suspicious games worldwide

He said a Singapore-based criminal network was involved in the match-fixing, spending up to (euro) 100,000 ($136,500) per match to bribe players and officials.

Wainwright said while many fixed matches were already known from trials in Europe, the Europol investigation that began in July 2011 lifted the lid on the widespread involvement or organized crime in rigging games.

''This is the first time we have established substantial evidence that organized crime is now operating in the world of (soccer),'' he said.

The global nature of the organized crime syndicates involved makes them hard to track down and prosecute. Europol said a single fixed match can involve up to 50 suspects in 10 different countries.

Europol said in a statement the criminal group behind most of the match-fixing was placing bets mainly in Asia.

''The ringleaders are of Asian origin, working closely together with European facilitators,'' the organization said, but it added that ''Russian-speaking'' and other criminal gangs were involved .

Wainwright said the international soccer community now needed a ''concerted effort'' to tackle the corruption. He said he would be sending the results of the investigation to UEFA President Michel Platini.

Previous investigations have found that a World Cup qualifier between Liechtenstein and Finland in September 2009 was fixed, as was the European Championship qualifier between Norway and Malta in June 2007.

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