Premier League chief executive worried by fixing claims

London (AFP) - Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore on Saturday urged anyone with information about match-fixing in the English top flight to report the matter to police.

He was responding to a claim by an online betting expert that two Premier League matches since 2000 have shown signs of suspicious betting patterns.

Mark Brosnan, chief executive of online betting firm Matchbook.com, told the Daily Telegraph that, concerning one of the games: "In my opinion, there's only a one percent chance that it was just a big coincidence."

Scudamore reacted by saying: "This is an allegation of criminal acts."

He added: "It is the most serious allegation that can be made about anyone involved in sport. It is about the most serious attack that can be made on sport.

"Anyone with allegations, information or evidence should report it to the police. There are processes in place through which they, the Gambling Commission and the Football Association are to act following receipt of such information. We would of course assist any such investigation."

Two men suspected of fixing matches in lower-league English football were remanded in custody by magistrates on Friday.

The men, alleged to be members of a Singapore-based betting syndicate, were among seven people arrested this week in an investigation by the recently formed National Crime Agency (NCA).

Chann Sankaran, a 33-year-old Singapore national, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, a 43-year-old British passport-holder, were remanded in custody until December 13 by magistrates in Cannock, central England.