Match-Fixing - Getting To The Bottom Of It Will Be A Mountainous Task

Monday, December 30, 2013

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Here we go again! Another match-fixing scandal is threatening to cause further damage to the credibility of our much beloved national football league. Then again, what's new anyway? The problem has been going on for quite some time and there is no sign that the authorities can put an end to it. It's a shame but what we see here are also happening elsewhere and every part of the world.

To completely get rid of match-fixing is such a huge task and requires everyone's involvement from the fans to the players. The fans must continue to demand the players to perform at their very best, while players must feel that they owe their fans something for giving them support and encouragement even when our football standard is down.

Dealing with match-fixing is a rather tricky affair and there is no clear-cut solution to it. The first thing to decide is when can an act of a player be considered as throwing a match away, thus shifting the onus on him to prove that he is not guilty of match-fixing?

Does the act of:

• scoring an own goal like James Chester did against Manchester United; or


• getting a silly red card like the one received by Joey Barton when his team was playing against Leicester; or


• making poor pass that contributed to opponent's goal or give the opponent a goal scoring chance like Leon Osman did during Everton versus Sunderland match?

constitutes an act of match-fixing?

Surely it is far from conclusive, right? In fact in most cases, no action was taken against players and the management will regard it as a purely bad day for the players.

It is important to note that during the mid-week Premier League matches, Liverpool manager's Brendan Rogers has reportedly said something really harsh towards referee, Lee Mason, which tantamount to accusing him of match-fixing, in my opinion. Therefore, when we talk about match-fixing, it is not only the players that should be scrutinised but the refs as well.

The match-fixing case gets more complicated when it comes to proving the main ingredient of the offence i.e that there is a financial gain from such act. Unless, you are caught red-handed, then proving such element is a difficult thing to do especially in this modern era where money can change hands easily without being tracked.

Looking back at our football league history, there are not many cases where football players were found guilty for match fixing by the authorities. Even during the 80-s and early 90-s when several players were caught and punished for the offences, whispered words around that time were that many of those players could have escaped the punishment had they been more aware of their rights. Players back then were a bit naive and if they knew about their right to legal counsel or representation for example, I'm pretty sure, none of them would have been punished. But, that's history for now.

Players these days are smarter and more aware of their rights. Therefore, it is almost impossible to accuse them of match-fixing. There are several cases where FAM took action against them but should they take the matter to the court, it could have been a different story. It could have been embarrassing for FAM.

I must say that  though I hate to admit it, match-fixing will forever be in our game as long as gambling still lives in our society. That does not mean that we should keep mum about it. We must continue our efforts to remind the players and those involved in the game not to get involve in match-fixing. It is cheating and it is a shameful act which one must not commit. If we not going to be able to get rid of it, then let's try to keep it as minimal as possible.

- Brader Sports

Tag : FAM, Football, Match-Fixing