Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Officer of sportstech giant Sportradar, has fired back against allegations made by two short seller investment research firms.
Two days ago, Muddy Waters and Callisto Research published allegations of business misconduct by Sportradar. The duo are also both open about having shorted Sportradar stock.
The companies allege that Sportradar has been actively servicing hundreds of illegal gambling operators while simultaneously providing integrity monitoring services to both the legal industry and various professional sports organisations like FIFA and UEFA.
In the aftermath of the allegations, Sportradar’s stock on the New York Nasdaq dropped 23%. As both Muddy Waters and Calissto had shorted Sportradar stock – i.e. betting that it would drop in value – and the duo likely cashed in on this.
Sportradar was quick to respond to the allegations, and its CEO has now doubled down.
“I take this as a personal attack considering my position and responsibility I have for investors, clients, partners and employees,” Koerl wrote on LinkedIn.
He added that “it is alarming to see so many false, misleading and defamatory statements about myself and the business designed to manipulate our stock price for the benefit of short sellers”.
Sportradar responds to spanner in the works
Koerl has a reason to describe the short sellers’ claims as a personal attack. The allegations against Sportradar included some bold statements against Koerl himself, such as claims that the German businessman has ties to Russian oligarchs.
“I believe these were thrown in to promote controversy and take advantage of the current news cycle,” Koerl said.
The CEO added that he had previously been a shareholder in Russian betting firm Liga Stavok, but sold his shares “when it no longer felt appropriate to invest in something perceived to be connected to a geopolitical conflict”.
Founded in 2001 with substantial investment by Koerl, Sportradar spent the next 25 years establishing itself as one of the world’s biggest companies in the sports technology and data collection space.
Sportradar listed on the New York Nasdaq in September 2021 via an initial public offering (IPO) valuing the firm at $8bn (£5.9bn in 2026 currency exchange rates). Its current market cap stands around $4bn, with the share price having dropped from around $17 per share on 21 April to $12.90 at the time of writing.
The firm has an extensive client portfolio including the aforementioned FIFA and UEFA, as well as the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), Nascar, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to name some of the bigger ones.
It makes a considerable amount of money collecting data from these leagues and distributing it to sports betting and media partners. Notable bookmaker clients include FanDuel (owned by Flutter Entertainment), DraftKings, and Wiliam Hill (owned by evoke)
The company significantly expanded its coverage of international sports data rights with the acquisition of IMG Arena from Endeavor Group Holdings last year. It also plans expansions into iGaming and predictions in 2026, launching a dedicated division targeting the former last month.
Integrity services remain a significant part of Sportradar’s business, albeit much less so than betting technology. In its FY25 results, the firm outlined group-wide revenue of just under $1.3bn, with $1bn from its Betting Technology and Solutions segment in comparison to $8.9m from the Sports Performance and Integrity Services division.
Nonetheless, the allegations against the firm and its founder/CEO stand to impact not just its integrity operations but also its relationships with major licensed operators, many of whom have been vocal about the threat illegal gambling operations pose to their businesses.
“There are numerous allegations in these reports that are either entirely false, poorly researched, deliberately taken out of context, or, at best, repackaging the same tired stories we have heard for years,” Koerl asserted.
Koerl added that Sportradar ‘will address the allegations in due course with the appropriate facts’, before signing off saying: “I am confident that Sportradar will continue to lead the industry with the support of our partners and incredible global team.”