NFR Match fixing

[cmg]

It's a very interesting area and there must be much that is not known.

Of course Italy has been rather prone to this sort of thing. Unusual in a country where organised crime is almost unknown (I may have got that wrong.) The attitude of the governing body is, as Putney says, important here. A good case in point was that of Paolo Rossi, a very talented goalscorer, who was implicated in a betting scandal in 1980 (some doubt about his involvement has since been raised). The lenient ban of three years he was punished with was, mysteriously, lifted just in time for the World Cup in which his six goals (including three against Brazil and one in the final) were a key factor in Italy's win.

You would need a pretty big bribe to buy a player these days, and even then you aren't guaranteed a result. Much cheaper to go after the ref, and, worldwide, there have been no shortage of takers.

The whole PED scene is very murky. I know nothing of their use in football. But I would have to say that soon after I gave up Rugby a number of players, some of them very well known indeed, suddenly became ENORMOUS. May have been done by protein shakes and bench presses alone - but I doubt it.

[Grimfang]

Six charged over alleged soccer match-fixing ring in Victorian Premier League

If they can make money rigging the results in the minor Australian  :down_under: Leagues, then you would have to think the temptation / greed is there to attempt it in the big matches. 

[HatterDon]

Six charged over alleged soccer match-fixing ring in Victorian Premier League

If they can make money rigging the results in the minor Australian  :down_under: Leagues, then you would have to think the temptation / greed is there to attempt it in the big matches. 

They're easier to detect in the big leagues.

[Forever Fulham]

Is it considered match fixing when, in a qualifying tournament, a tie would see both teams advancing, and neither team makes much effort to shoot (accurately) on goal?  Would such tacit agreement not to give your best (wink, wink) on offense to increase the likelihood of a tie, seeing both through, be considered match fixing?  Clearly, a unilateral decision not to try hard to score, and independently driven determination to content oneself with playing bunker defense to ensure at worse a tie would not be match fixing.  But let's say Manager A says to Manager B, "I was just thinking: A tie today sees us both through to Brazil."  Manager B doesn't respond.  But both teams don't seem to be giving their all past the midfield line once the game starts.  Match fixing?

[cmg]

Six charged over alleged soccer match-fixing ring in Victorian Premier League

If they can make money rigging the results in the minor Australian  :down_under: Leagues, then you would have to think the temptation / greed is there to attempt it in the big matches. 

They're easier to detect in the big leagues.

Yes. Not only that, the rewards are so great in the top leagues that it would take a pretty big bribe to impress a present-day player (I'm not saying it's impossible). Also the competition is so fierce that getting a 'result' would be far from guaranteed. That's why the poorer paid and vitally influential referee is a better target.

Betting opportunity is, and usually has been, the key here. The major betting firms today are ultra-senstive to 'unusual betting patterns' and operate sophisticated security. It was not always so. When the major Pools firms introduced pool betting on Australian football to fill the summer off-season in England, they, amazingly, omitted to change the cut-off time for entries - despite the fact that the matches were now taking place half a day earlier! Savvy customers who could hand in last minute coupons cashed in until the loophole was closed.
It was then discovered that some of the matches being wagered on were little more than Pub league kickabouts and that 'results' could be obtained for little more than a round of Four X.