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Positive moves taken to clean up scourge of gambling in soccer
By Ni Tao |
November 23, 2009, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE soccer is back in the headlines and again for the wrong reasons.
The latest scourge to afflict the country's scandal-ridden game is soccer betting, a furtive activity that has stalked the sport for long before it was put under the spotlight.
In a bid to cleanse stadiums of this chronic malady, China's Ministry of Public Security is spearheading a nationwide campaign against illegal soccer gambling. So far this crusade has yielded a few victories of sorts, with several suspects being held and interrogated for their alleged roles in the racket.
But as the probe widens and more disturbing information comes to light, a question looms large: Is Chinese soccer rotten to the point where a shock therapy is what it takes to pluck it from the cesspool of corruption and depravity?
The answer may prove to be mixed. A series of sweeping initiatives have been waged in the past to eradicate soccer betting. But enforcement was somehow lax.
The reason that some players resort to match fixing is basically two-fold.
First, offenders are often from cash-strapped underdog squads. Having no other recourse, they are coerced into making Faustian pacts. After they dabble in the activity, however, the initial fear and sense of guilt gradually evaporate as the insatiable appetite for more "windfalls" gets the upper hand in their conscience.
Second, the problem is also rooted in the country's flawed soccer system. As the sport's governing body, the Chinese Football Association has done little more than paying lip service to encourage fair play.
Clubs have also failed in this regard. While European clubs set much store on footballers' spiritual cultivation, their Chinese counterparts emphasize the perfecting of skills rather than sportsmanship.
This time around, the authorities seem at last to demonstrate some resolve in tackling the problem. Last Tuesday, the crackdown claimed its first success.
The arrest in the city of Qingdao of veteran player Leng Bo, who was once a celebrated mid-fielder in a top-flight Shandong team, came as a bombshell that sent shockwaves throughout the pitch, the Oriental Morning Post reported last Wednesday.
After Leng retired as assistant coach from a second-division Qingdao club in 2006, he became a fervent soccer punter and well-informed tipster. Under his influence, younger players were enticed into signing murky deals in exchange for easy money, the newspaper reported.
While Leng's likes are not rare, the most ignominious title of soccer scoundrel unmistakably belongs to this man: Wang Po. Former general manager of Shaanxi Guoli Football Club, Wang was seen as a white knight who might guide the club through its financial difficulty when he took over in 2003.
However, Wang was better at pulling shenanigans than shrewd management. After he edged out the team's Brazilian coach, he allegedly forced his players to execute his plan, the sports news portal Titan reported on November 16.
Now that Wang was detained, his modus operandi -- and that of his ilk -- in manipulating matches has become widely know. As Titan revealed, the usual way to rig a game is to buy off two guards, a goalkeeper and a forward and have them carry out a premeditated plan.
But sometimes plans can go sour. For instance, if defenders and goalkeeper get paid for foul play while the forward is withheld his share of the bounty, the forward might try to score as many goals as he can to undo the "efforts" made by his scheming teammates.
Admittedly, soccer betting is not only endemic in China. It is a by-product of worldwide passion for a sport that is affectionately nicknamed the "beautiful game." But it is here that the problem has generated a worrisome number of headlines.
The recent clampdown on soccer betting came as a rare piece of exhilarating news. A host of newspapers have editorialized in support of sterner punishment for those caught cheating, equating soccer-betting with fraud or bribery which carries a much longer jail term than gambling.
I have some ambivalence toward this "stick" option, though.
While it is necessary that we bear down on soccer gambling, it doesn't mean we should do it mercilessly or indiscriminately, given that younger offenders are mostly led astray down this blind alley. One last piece of advice to those in charge: Abandon your bluff-and-leave tactics and hunker down for a battle of attrition.
The latest scourge to afflict the country's scandal-ridden game is soccer betting, a furtive activity that has stalked the sport for long before it was put under the spotlight.
In a bid to cleanse stadiums of this chronic malady, China's Ministry of Public Security is spearheading a nationwide campaign against illegal soccer gambling. So far this crusade has yielded a few victories of sorts, with several suspects being held and interrogated for their alleged roles in the racket.
But as the probe widens and more disturbing information comes to light, a question looms large: Is Chinese soccer rotten to the point where a shock therapy is what it takes to pluck it from the cesspool of corruption and depravity?
The answer may prove to be mixed. A series of sweeping initiatives have been waged in the past to eradicate soccer betting. But enforcement was somehow lax.
The reason that some players resort to match fixing is basically two-fold.
First, offenders are often from cash-strapped underdog squads. Having no other recourse, they are coerced into making Faustian pacts. After they dabble in the activity, however, the initial fear and sense of guilt gradually evaporate as the insatiable appetite for more "windfalls" gets the upper hand in their conscience.
Second, the problem is also rooted in the country's flawed soccer system. As the sport's governing body, the Chinese Football Association has done little more than paying lip service to encourage fair play.
Clubs have also failed in this regard. While European clubs set much store on footballers' spiritual cultivation, their Chinese counterparts emphasize the perfecting of skills rather than sportsmanship.
This time around, the authorities seem at last to demonstrate some resolve in tackling the problem. Last Tuesday, the crackdown claimed its first success.
The arrest in the city of Qingdao of veteran player Leng Bo, who was once a celebrated mid-fielder in a top-flight Shandong team, came as a bombshell that sent shockwaves throughout the pitch, the Oriental Morning Post reported last Wednesday.
After Leng retired as assistant coach from a second-division Qingdao club in 2006, he became a fervent soccer punter and well-informed tipster. Under his influence, younger players were enticed into signing murky deals in exchange for easy money, the newspaper reported.
While Leng's likes are not rare, the most ignominious title of soccer scoundrel unmistakably belongs to this man: Wang Po. Former general manager of Shaanxi Guoli Football Club, Wang was seen as a white knight who might guide the club through its financial difficulty when he took over in 2003.
However, Wang was better at pulling shenanigans than shrewd management. After he edged out the team's Brazilian coach, he allegedly forced his players to execute his plan, the sports news portal Titan reported on November 16.
Now that Wang was detained, his modus operandi -- and that of his ilk -- in manipulating matches has become widely know. As Titan revealed, the usual way to rig a game is to buy off two guards, a goalkeeper and a forward and have them carry out a premeditated plan.
But sometimes plans can go sour. For instance, if defenders and goalkeeper get paid for foul play while the forward is withheld his share of the bounty, the forward might try to score as many goals as he can to undo the "efforts" made by his scheming teammates.
Admittedly, soccer betting is not only endemic in China. It is a by-product of worldwide passion for a sport that is affectionately nicknamed the "beautiful game." But it is here that the problem has generated a worrisome number of headlines.
The recent clampdown on soccer betting came as a rare piece of exhilarating news. A host of newspapers have editorialized in support of sterner punishment for those caught cheating, equating soccer-betting with fraud or bribery which carries a much longer jail term than gambling.
I have some ambivalence toward this "stick" option, though.
While it is necessary that we bear down on soccer gambling, it doesn't mean we should do it mercilessly or indiscriminately, given that younger offenders are mostly led astray down this blind alley. One last piece of advice to those in charge: Abandon your bluff-and-leave tactics and hunker down for a battle of attrition.
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