Five players arrested for rigging HK games
Print Edition
FIVE professional footballers and a suspected bookmaker have been arrested over alleged match fixing in Hong Kong’s football league, the city’s anti-corruption watchdog said yesterday.
Local media reported the five footballers played for Hong Kong Pegasus, a strong team in contention for the title, which unexpectedly lost a match last week against a Chinese Super League team made up mostly of youth players.
“The five arrested players might have conspired to accept bribes from other persons, including the suspected bookmaker, as rewards for their participation in rigging four matches,” the Independent Commission Against Corruption said yesterday.
The watchdog said the alleged bribes amounted to over HK$90,000 (US$11,600) and that the investigation was started after it received a complaint during the 2015-2016 season.
The Hong Kong Football Association, which regulates the city’s professional league, has previously admitted the league could be vulnerable to rigging as players are poorly paid.
“It is disappointing to note that further allegations of misconduct have come to light,” HKFA chief executive officer Mark Sutcliffe said, adding measures had been introduced to minimize the threat of corruption.
In 2014, nine people were arrested for alleged match-fixing in multiple football fixtures, with one Croatian player convicted and jailed for 12 months, the South China Morning Post said.
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