Bizarre Scenes as Players Stop Playing, Shake Hands Before Full Time in Belgian League: Video

• A Belgian football match has been marred by match-fixing allegations
• Players from opposing teams were seen shaking hands before full-time
• The two teams needed one point and their game ended in a 1-1 draw

A Belgian top flight match has been condemned over allegations of ‘blatant cheating’ after both teams appeared to be in cohorts while playing out a draw.

The match between Genk and Westerlo had a controversial incident towards the end as players appeared to stop playing minutes after the equaliser was scored.

Videos of the match doing rounds on social media show the ball being passed around by one team, as cameras captured two opponents shaking hands in the midst of the game.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw after Genk scored an 86th-minute equaliser, in a result that favoured both teams.

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According to The Mirror, the two Belgian top flight sides went into the final game of the season needing a point for contrasting reasons.

For Genk, one point would be enough to see them secure a sixth-place finish and subsequently secure qualification for the Championship round. Westerlo, on the other hand, knew they would avoid relegation with a positive result.

Despite Genk being a man down, Westerlo made no attempts to go in for the kill, and allowed their opponents to casually pass the ball around in the final minutes.

Westerlo manager sacked

In the aftermath of the disgraceful scenes, Westerlo released a statement distancing the club from the incident.

"KVC Westerlo completely disassociates itself from the way the match unfolded during the last five minutes," the statement, dated March 18, read.

According to Daily Star, all 21 players involved in the match were fined by the Belgian FA, and the case was forwarded to the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

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A day after the incident, Westerlo manager, Rik De Mil, was dismissed by the club.

Africa and match-fixing

Sports Brief also reported on worrying findings about African match-fixing, with the continent experiencing more than 50 reported suspicious sports events in the last year.

Comparatively, the continent with the most suspicious sports matches was Europe (525), with football unsurprisingly being the sport type most targeted by match-fixers.