The match in question saw Benfica beat Penafiel 4-0 on 9 May, with Federbet listing this fixture as a suspicious one in its annual report handed over to the European Parliament this week.
Federbet describes itself as an international non-profit federation based in Belgium and aims to represent the interests of all the operators and consumers in the gaming sector.
“We are on a quest to promote a competitive market with a set of values that cannot be overlooked”, it explains on its official website.
But Portuguese football authorities appear not to be convinced by Federbet’s philosophy.
“Federbet has been trying to offer its services to the LPF and its associates for impossible amounts. The formula they have been using is a means of pressure which is absolutely repulsive”, the LPF said in a statement after Benfica had been highlighted in Federbet’s latest report.
“Instead of taking the matter up with the competent authorities, they have opted to launch public suspicion on our clubs and sporting competitions”, the LPF adds.
It has also been said that the basis for Federbet’s allegations – that more than usual bets were placed on this match – was unfounded, and was rather due to Benfica supporters placing bets on their team winning the match move within a point of becoming league champions.
The report handed to the European Parliament, lists 50 more matches which Federbet says were fixed in Europe over the past 12 months.
Without releasing detailed evidence of how they uncovered the information, the group said matches had been fixed in Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Sweden, Slovenia, Hungry, Romania, and Croatia.
“The tendency is very bad. It’s almost dramatic, because the attempt of match fixing is growing up every weekend and the numbers are really, really impressive in a negative way,” Federbet secretary-general Francesco Barranca was quoted as telling Euronews this week.