An amateur soccer team in Sweden was subjected to vicious online abuse, including death threats, after one of its practice games received unusually large exposure on betting sites amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With sports around the world in lockdown, soccer is only being played in a few places. In Belarus, the country’s top division continues as normal, while in Sweden only practice games between lower-league teams are still allowed to go ahead.
Skabersjo IF, a seventh-division team located near Malmo in southern Sweden, played Vastra Ingelstad IS on Monday. Skabersjo chairman Mattias Andersson said people — presumably from the betting community — from places like Hungary, Denmark, England and in Asia contacted his club on social media and email asking for information about such things as the team’s style of play.