Doping has been a part of the cycling world for years; first it was'nt mentioned but now it is one of the hottest topics. The same matters for match fixing; it has been a part of football for years, but now we are putting focus on the problem.
It has been there for years, but the first time I heard about match fixing was in 1995. My local team in Denmark, Aalborg BK, had played and lost against Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League Qualification. However, it was revealed that Dinamo had tried to bribe the referee with two fur coats and an unknown amount of money. Aalborg, therefore, took their spot in the ChL.
Today, the match fixing is much more than two fur coats and some money. Today we are talking about a million-industry and led by crime syndicates. Europol yesterday announced that they believe 680 matches in 13 countries has been arranged by an Asian crime syndicate.
Europol is now taking action against the players, officials, referees ect. who has taken part in this incident, but does this mean that we have seen the last of match fixing? Probably not; match fixing is here to stay.
Where there is money, there will always be cheating. As long as some players can't say no to the satisfaction of earning extra money, match fixing will exist. What can we do then? Ban all gambling on football matches? Definately not! As much as you like it or not, gambling is a part of the sport and is not something we can just get rid off.
What we could do, is to punish the sinners even harder than we do now, not only by exclusion and fines but with prison, as well. In cycling, they took Lance Armstrong's wins in the Tour de France. In football, we can't punish in the same way.
Despite harder penalties, match fixing will probably always be a part of the football world, as much as doping will be a part of cycling. At the moment, it is hard to see what the authorities can do to prevent further scandals in the future.
Now, go make a bet on a fixed match!
It has been there for years, but the first time I heard about match fixing was in 1995. My local team in Denmark, Aalborg BK, had played and lost against Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League Qualification. However, it was revealed that Dinamo had tried to bribe the referee with two fur coats and an unknown amount of money. Aalborg, therefore, took their spot in the ChL.
Today, the match fixing is much more than two fur coats and some money. Today we are talking about a million-industry and led by crime syndicates. Europol yesterday announced that they believe 680 matches in 13 countries has been arranged by an Asian crime syndicate.
Europol is now taking action against the players, officials, referees ect. who has taken part in this incident, but does this mean that we have seen the last of match fixing? Probably not; match fixing is here to stay.
Where there is money, there will always be cheating. As long as some players can't say no to the satisfaction of earning extra money, match fixing will exist. What can we do then? Ban all gambling on football matches? Definately not! As much as you like it or not, gambling is a part of the sport and is not something we can just get rid off.
What we could do, is to punish the sinners even harder than we do now, not only by exclusion and fines but with prison, as well. In cycling, they took Lance Armstrong's wins in the Tour de France. In football, we can't punish in the same way.
Despite harder penalties, match fixing will probably always be a part of the football world, as much as doping will be a part of cycling. At the moment, it is hard to see what the authorities can do to prevent further scandals in the future.
Now, go make a bet on a fixed match!
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