London — The Fifa World Cup is not immune from the threat of match-fixing, experts have warned, with sophisticated monitoring systems in place to identify suspicious activity during the tournament in Russia. Jake Marsh, head of integrity at digital media group Perform, which supplies live sports video to bookmakers, said there was no room for complacency despite the global nature of the event. He said factors such as national pride and the impression — sometimes false — that all the players are well-paid, did not mean the World Cup would not be targeted. "We have had World Cup qualifiers that have been proved as fixed," said Marsh, who was speaking at the Betting on Football conference at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground in the UK on Wednesday. "So why wouldn’t they go into the main tournament? We looked at a friendly match last year between two international sides, one of which couldn’t afford to pay their hotel bill and might be featuring at the World Cup. "The vulnerabilities are...
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