IFA chairman: I absolutely did not fix matches

"I am an honest and fair man" says Luzon in an interview, following 8 hours of questioning by fraud unit a day earlier.

By JPOST.COM, REUTERS
Maccabi Haifa players mob Wiyam Amasha 311 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Maccabi Haifa players mob Wiyam Amasha 311
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Israel Football Association chairman Avi Luzon asserted his innocence Monday morning, stating that he was absolutely not involved in match fixing, in an interview with Army Radio.
His comments followed eight hours of police questioning by the fraud unit on Sunday, in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged match fixing and interfering in the placement of officials.
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"I absolutely did not interfere with the assignation of referees, in any game, for any team. Not in Petah Tikvah or anywhere else," he said.
"No recording that they played me during my investigation amazed me," he said. "Everyone who knows me knows one thing, even those who hate me: I am an honest and fair man. Sometimes people get angry and say I'm an extrovert, but I speak my mind. That's sometimes my  problem."
Luzon added that he was by no means considering quitting.  
Sunday's interrogation came several months after police opened a broad match-fixing inquiry that has included the questioning of a number of club functionaries, mainly from Premier League Hapoel Petah Tikva, and match officials.
Luzon was also one of those questioned in the previous round but as a witness.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that the suspicions against Luzon related to issues of fraud and breach of trust.
The FA issued a statement saying Luzon had "cooperated fully with the police so that it could complete its task in the best possible way and finish it's investigation swiftly."
But it requested that police carry out inquiries "with consideration in order to prevent public harm... which can be very difficult to repair."
Israel has seen at last one major match-fixing affair in recent years. An investigation begun in 2002 ended with the jailing of six men - three in 2006 and three in 2007 - for their involvement in match fixing in 1999 and 2000.