football

Football Match-Fixing

Former Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry has urged for new, “tougher sanctions” on match-fixing, in a report commissioned by sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe. According to Parry, the review offers minister’s a way of “tackling the growing threat of corruption” in sport, with Parry recommending that the government take the “toughest possible approach” in order to “stamp out cheating”.

The review comes after a year of match-fixing allegations and, over the past eighteen months, 48 cases have been put before the Gambling Commission. The allegations have typically involved lower league teams, who may have believed that a supposed fixed-result would fly “under the radar” of both journalists and sports officials. Back in April 2009 though, Accrington Stanley, who play in Football League Two, hit the headlines after it was revealed five players from the team had bet on their opponents winning the match.

The report recommends that in order to prevent future betting irregularities, a “new code of conduct on sports betting integrity for all sports governing bodies” and “a system for capturing intelligence and report regularly to the new unit” should be introduced. Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has suggested that he is keen to keep up the “momentum on this vitally important work”.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers FCWest Midlands based football team Wolverhampton Wanderers have hit back at allegations that their club is breeding a “gambling culture”. The football team, which is sponsored by bookmakers SportingBet.com, has rejected claims that four first team players, as well as youth team member, have “been gambling too much”. The club admitted in an interview that they had called in Mike Wood, of Sporting Chance, a charity which deals specifically with sportsmen and women who have problems with addictions ranging from alcohol to gambling.

However, Wolves’ boss Mick McCarthy has suggested that Wood’s visit at the club was a “precautionary measure”. McCarthy went on to note that the club have a range of spokespersons who come in to discuss issues such as gambling, drugs and alcohol. McCarthy made clear that Wood’s visit was nothing to be concerned about, suggesting that they “do not have a gambling problem at Wolves, nor have we had one in the past”. Other clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, also based in the West Midlands, have made clear that they too offer guidance for players on a range of issues, including preventing gambling addictions.

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Betfair have suggested that they noted “suspicious gambling patterns” on the night Ryan Giggs was crowned as Sports Personality of the Year. The online gambling company have suggested that while the odds were originally at 999-1 for the Manchester United sports star to receive the award, on the night of the announcement they had to slash the odds to 8-11 after betting fluctuations.

Tony Calvin, a spokesperson for Betfair, has suggested that the flurry of wagers proved to be “a very surprising gamble that came from left field and it's open to speculation what might have happened.” The BBC has denied that the information could have leaked; suggesting that they make sure the announcement is kept secret.

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Following the arrests of 17 people and the confiscation of £900,000, police forces have alleged that UEFA officials may have been involved in the fixing of at least 200 European football games. Late last week, police arrested 17 people on charges relating to illegal gambling, after they uncovered what’s been called “the biggest match-fixing scandal European football has ever seen”.

It’s believed that a variety of European football matches could have been fixed, including Europa and Champions League games. 40 players are currently being investigated by police forces and it’s believed UEFA officials may have tipped off gambling rings with information about who would be refereeing certain matches. The Times has suggested that the “modus operandi” of the match fixers was to “befriend officials by luring them with women and alcohol, then bribe them to make key decisions to influence the outcome of games”. The investigation is set to continue and as yet, no matches involving English clubs have been investigated.

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