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Chinese Soccer: Is the Fix in?
By staff reporter ZHU HONG
Betting on the outcomes of soccer games is rampant in China and to fight it an anti-gambling storm is gathering over China's soccer fields. The pending government crackdown on soccer-related crimes, such as soccer fraud, betting and manipulation, is of vital importance – not only to rebuilding a healthy environment for the sport, but also to the whole future of Chinese soccer.
Judicial Intervention
The "fuse" for the crackdown was an investigation into a single case of gambling. In 2008, after a long period of undercover observation and investigation, the police raided an illegal betting operation profiting from wagers on soccer games. Further investigation exposed that those charged were not only involved in gambling, but also into game-fixing, manipulating soccer match wins and losses.
Under the deployment of the Ministry of Public Security, a nationwide campaign against soccer betting and soccer match manipulation was carried out step by step. Police followed the clues, tracked down a long list of gamblers, and collected copious material evidence including details of bank account activity, records of soccer betting deals, and computer data. The people caught red-handed represent the whole spectrum of the sport: soccer players in active service, coaches, team leaders, club staff, and soccer veterans.
During the investigation, police found that the head coaches and general managers of certain soccer clubs manipulated domestic soccer matches by buying off players and referees. They set the results of soccer matches beforehand, and then posted certain stakes on gambling websites, designed to influence betting and generate huge profits for them. In 2006, for instance, Yang Xu, deputy general manager of the Guangzhou Yiyao Team, helped rig a match between his team and Shanxi Luhu. Yang, now in custody, told the media recently, "The Guangzhou municipal government, the Guangzhou Medical Group and the soccer club were all anxious that our team qualify for the National Soccer Super League Matches. But we weren't up to it. It was not uncommon at the time for players to be bribed to play poorly and referees to make certain calls. We all knew it was wrong, but were afraid of being disadvantaged if we didn't go along with it. Under such circumstances, we manipulated the match rather than leaving things to chance."
The appalling state of Chinese soccer has aroused the attention of more and more people, including top leaders President Hu Jintao and Vice-President Xi Jinping, who have issued instructions to straighten out the game as soon as possible. The gathering forces against gambling and game rigging are blowing the whistle right on time.
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