The Worst Match Fixing Scandals Ever
Match fixing is a scourge that’s felt across the globe, in all kinds of sports. These incidents are some of the worst, but you can bet that even worse ones will crop up in the future.
IPL
Cricket is often subject to match fixing, but in 2013 a scandal broke that was unlike any other. 3 Royals players along with 23 other people were arrested for match fixing, but in the end were released, as there was not enough evidence. Many believe that all 26 arrested were guilty, and the sport and team was tarnished for a long time thereafter.
Stephen Lee
Snooker is a bit like real slots NZ in that you don’t think that there really is much potential to chat the system. But of course, were there’s big money at stake there’s always a will and a way. Despite having won over £2 million in his career, Stephen Lee was greedy and became involved in match fixing. He was suspended after suspicious betting patterns were picked up, and in the end, an independent tribunal discovered that Lee had influenced the outcome of 7 events between 2008 and 2009, and he was banned for 12 years.
Hansie Cronje
One of the most beloved cricketers in South African history, Cronje’s fall from grace was spectacular and no one could quite believe that the Captain had acted so abominably. He originally denied his guilt in an international match fixing syndicate but broke down on the stand under cross-examination. He was then banned for life from the sport, but in 2002 he was killed in alight aircraft crash. To this day, conspiracy theories surrounding his death abound.
Nigerian Football
The Nigerian Football Association issued several bans for life after a rather extreme match-fixing incident came to light. When the Plateau United Feeders won their game 79-0 and Police Machine won theirs 67-0, red flags were immediately raised and officials looked into the match. It turned out that a massive match fixing scandal had been orchestrated, and players, referees and even coaches were banned for life. Perhaps a more realistic score would have garnered less attention, but the fact that both teams scored so highly, and mostly in the 32nd half of the match was an immediate concern.
Black Sox
Match fix has been around for years, as is indicative of the 1919 World Series event. The Chicago White Sox lost the tournament amidst a flurry of controversy. Some players were underpaid, others were ill and most were fed up with their treatment from the team owner, Charles Comiskey. This made it easier for gambler James ‘Sporty’ Sullivan to coerce the players into throwing the game, and letting the Black Sox win.
The tournament wasn’t even half way played when rumours began circulating that it was fixed, and once it had reached its expected conclusion, a grand jury investigated, and 2 players owned up. The scandal was one of the biggest in baseball ever, and the White Sox team who was involved were forever after known as the ‘Black Sox’.