Sports fans cannot but express shock and anger at the ever-widening match-fixing scandal as more and more athletes have been implicated. Prosecutors have expanded their investigations following the arrest of four active and retired volleyball players and two gambling brokers.
The scandal erupted over the pro volleyball circuit’s V-League. Now, it has spread to professional baseball and basketball matches. On Wednesday, pitcher Moon Sung-hyun of the Nexen Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) admitted he rejected an offer to join a match-fixing scheme in 2010. The revelation has added more fuel to the fire.
This comes after 37 active and former K-League footballers and 11 gambling brokers were indicted for involvement in match rigging in July 2011. Since then, sports associations and individual teams have vowed to root out the illegal practice by strengthening oversight, tightening the code of ethics and adopting anti-rigging programs.
However, they have only demonstrated that they have put words before action. This makes the public more frustrated at their failure to break corrupt ties between players and illegal gambling site operators. Most of all, sports fans have no other choice but to vent their outrage at players who hurt sportsmanship in their blind pursuit of money.
It is wrong for athletes, even if professional, to betray the spirit of sports and yield to the temptation of money. The K-League players pocketed 3 million to 55 million won from gambling brokers hired by illegal sports betting sites in return for match fixing. The volleyball players at KEPCO 45 and the military team Sangmu Shinhyup are also suspected of taking money from gambling brokers or profiteering from betting sites.
It is a shame that those players had no respect for what’s most important in sports ― fair play and free competition. They cheated spectators and themselves by making intentional mistakes in favor of rival teams in return for cash. Such athletes should be ousted with stern disciplinary and legal action.
It is urgent to crack down on illegal sports gambling sites which are blamed for employing brokers to buy athletes to make illegal profits in match-fixing schemes. Many site operators have even hired gangsters to coerce players into continuing dirty play. There are also speculations that some organized criminal rings from China and Taiwan might have made inroads into Korea to run gambling sites.
More than 1,000 illegal sports betting sites are in operation in the nation. Thus, the authorities cannot stamp out match fixing without shutting them down. They should also work hard with sports associations and teams to strengthen the monitoring system to prevent match rigging. More than anything else, all players must make strenuous efforts to ensure good sportsmanship.