Valencia accuse Green Streets of match-fixing after no show affects relegation outcome

Valencia have accused Green Streets of deliberately failing to show up for their Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League match against New Radiant last evening, claiming the no-show directly resulted in Valencia’s relegation.

Green Streets did not attend the scheduled match, despite announcing their starting eleven in the pre-match squad list had not appeared at the stadium before kick-off.

The final round of matches in the league is being played this week. Valencia had kept their survival hopes alive by defeating Eagles on Wednesday, drawing level on points with Green Streets.

Had Green Streets lost their final match by four goals, Valencia would have avoided automatic relegation. However, under league rules, a team that fails to show up forfeits the match with a two-goal loss, a result that ensured Green Streets avoided automatic relegation and sent Valencia down.

Valencia said the no-show amounted to deliberately determining the outcome of the match.

“Determining the result for yourself is fixing the outcome of the match,” the club said in a statement, adding that match-fixing is among the most serious offences in football globally.

Valencia have called on the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) to investigate the incident and said they will also refer the matter to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

In the 10-team Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League, the bottom two teams are automatically relegated. United Victory had already been relegated prior to this week’s fixtures. Valencia, who finished ninth, were relegated following the events of last evening.