German news magazine Der Spiegel claimed on Monday (June 30) that the Singaporean had correctly predicted the 4-0 outcome of the Group A fixture, and the fact that a player would be sent off during the game, in a Facebook log prior to kick-off.

Perumal, who was detained by police in Finland in April on an international arrest warrant, denied the claims, however, stating he merely gave "an informal assessment of the behaviour of the Cameroon team at the Brazil 2014 World Cup" after the game.

It is this timing of the conversation that is in dispute, with Perumal denying he made the allegations prior to the Cameroon versus Croatia match, before apologising to the Cameroon Football Federation, which has launched an investigation into the claims.

"Contrary to the 'revelations' published by the German weekly Der Spiegel that were picked up by news outlets worldwide, I did not predict the result of the Cameroon versus Croatia match played on June 18, 2014," Perumal wrote in a statement.

"The Facebook chat with the Der Spiegel journalist took place a few days after the match - June 21, as confirmed by my Facebook log - and was but an informal assessment of the behaviour of the Cameroon team at the Brazil 2014 World Cup after they had played two of their three group stage matches, including the one with Croatia.

"At no time did I make reference to four goals being scored or to a red card being issued.

"At no time did I suggest that I had any way of corroborating or substantiating what was meant to be an educated guess based on my extensive match-fixing experience.

"Last but not least: at no time was I informed by the Der Spiegel journalist that our chat was going to end up in the German publication.

"I am shocked and amazed that a respected magazine such as Der Spiegel would go so far as to fabricate statements by yours truly with the visible aim of stirring the row over match-fixing.

"I apologise to the Cameroon FA (Football Association) and to its fans if I inadvertently offended them; it was not my intention.

"I strongly believe that Der Spiegel should also do the same since they placed words in my mouth that I did not utter."

German news magazine Der Spiegel had claimed that Wilson Raj Perumal correctly predicted the outcome and the fact a player would be sent off in the game between Cameroon and Croatia, prior to kick-off ©Getty Images





























The allegations by Der Spiegel led Cameroon's governing body for football, FECAFOOT, to launch an investigation into the three Group A matches, "especially Cameroon versus Croatia", as well as "seven bad apples" allegedly involved in the match-fixing scandal.

The German magazine has defended its position on the issue, insisting Perumal's statements were made before kick-off.

"We firmly stand by our assertion, that Mr Perumal wrote in a Facebook chat some hours before the World Cup match Croatia versus Cameroon, that the result of the match will be a 4-0-victory for Croatia and that a player of Cameroon will get a red card in the first half," Der Spiegel told the BBC.

Commenting on the matter, the International Centre for Sport Security, one of the world's leading anti-match-fixing watchdogs, said it had not detected any "observable suspicious betting" on the game.

Its director, Chris Eaton, said the seriousness of the case meant it should receive "a swift, strong and, most importantly, an international and co-ordinated investigation".

"If it is confirmed that the advice from Perumal was made before the match and is accurate to the overall result and red card, then this allegation will no doubt be treated extremely seriously by football, governments and beyond," he said.

"The Cameroon match-fixing case is a grave allegation with an alleged and strong indication of pre-match knowledge from a well-known match-fixer."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
June 2014: Cameroon to investigate allegations of match-fixing during FIFA World Cup
June 2014: Ghana Football Association President denies match-fixing claims
May 2014: Five warm-up games before 2010 World Cup fixed, finds FIFA
April 2014: IOC demand more evidence before considering claims Olympic football matches were fixed