Three clubs targeted in Dutch match-fixing probe

Three first division clubs are at the centre of an investigation into alleged match-fixing in Dutch football.

The sides - ADO The Hague, FC Utrecht and Willem II Tilburg - were named by De Telegraaf, with the paper quoting sources close to the six-week-old inquiry.

Investigators are said to be studying videos of matches they believe to have been fixed.

A prosecution spokeswoman on Thursday confirmed an initial criminal investigation was underway.

De Telegraaf reports that suspicions arose after it was shown that the lavish spending of some players seemed incompatible with their take home pay.

Some players for average clubs from the Dutch first and second divisions splashed out on villas for cash and drove luxury cars while their income was relatively low, De Telegraaf said Friday.

The Dutch authorities estimate that at least five illegal gambling syndicates generating some 40 million euros a year were in operation in the Netherlands.