A special investigation unit has been set by UEFA to stamp out match-fixing and corruption in football. "We will be setting up a special investigations unit to look into situations reported to us in terms of irregular betting," general secretary David Taylor said.

"This is a danger in our game, we will not allow our sport to be destabilised by those who wish to manipulate it."

"We want a European system, with the goal in the future being not only for European matches, but with the whole of football," Taylor said. "But the first stage is the creation of this investigation branch for the competitions concerned with UEFA."

He added: "We are employing extra people and strengthening our early warning systems to fight the war against illegal betting and corruption."

The unit should be fully operational from next season.

UEFA have handed a report to Interpol detailing suspicions that 26 matches in the Champions League, UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup had been fixed. Of these, 15 are still under investigation.