JERUSALEM, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police on Monday arrested 17 players and staff from football team Kiryat Yam on suspicion of a match-fixing scheme spanning the past three years.

According to a police statement, the arrests followed months of undercover investigations carried out in cooperation with the Israel Football Association (IFA).

The police added that dozens of officers had raided suspects' homes. Besides the arrests, they seized laptops, digital wallets, checks and documents related to football matches and illegal gambling.

The club has allegedly been used as a platform by a criminal organization to manipulate match results for profit from illegal gambling in Israel and abroad while paying bribes and signing players to illegal parallel contracts.

Kiryat Yam last season played in the northern division of the Israeli third league, which was halted mid-season due to widespread match-fixing by several teams.

The club was sitting in first place when the league was suspended and was found not to be involved.

The IFA subsequently promoted the team to the second division. However, it began the current season with a four-point deduction for salary violations.

Despite the penalty, Kiryat Yam currently sits just two points shy of second place, which would secure promotion to the Israeli Premier League.

The IFA has not yet commented on the arrests or on the club's future in the second division. ■