The ‘King’ of Match Fixing Wilson Raj Perumal.
The news that the police have taken into custody a number of individuals in connection with match fixing is bad news. The fact that it involves English football teams is really bad news, and the accusation that it involves the king of match fixing Wilson Raj Perumal is even worst news.
Match fixing seem to be growing as the betting on their outcomes go into hundreds of millions pounds. But, the one area that did looked untouchable was the English Football Association. It seemed that with the money involved the very loyal fan base that it was almost impossible to bring the game into disrepute. Yes there was always the element of ‘English fair play’ in which the rules were always upheld for the good of the game. To say that English football supporting is almost a religious experience is not an outlandish statement.
Now with the latest news this will be a body blow in which most supporters will hopefully be glad if it is so small and amateurish that it will not taint the game too much. The last thing we need in football is for it to be tainted like cricket and therefore get relegated to the scepticism of horse racing and greyhound racing.
This ask the question can any form of gambling be entirely without corruption?
The simple answer is no, but, there can be an element of trust in the result. Making sure players cannot bet in the game they are playing is the first thing. The second would be to regulate the betting markets in Asia. Third and finally castigating anyone found fixing a game and expelling them for ever is the final pillar to keep crooked players down to a minimum.
Players will always bet on the game. It is part of the fun of playing any sport is risking financial well being on its outcome. But there is a time when the money won from betting is greater than the reward offered in playing. However, you have got to ‘trust’ the participants to have some sort of honour and to do the right thing.
Why Asian countries outlaw betting is beyond me. Apparently in India something like $60 billion per year is betted on all sorts of events yet the country still make it illegal except for horse racing? This applies to other countries within Asia to some degree. Now if it were legal it would be open to regulation and revenue for the government. Instead criminals and websites which will never pay tax in those countries benefit. How stupid is that?
Finally retribution to those involve in match fixing should be heavy and punitive. Just like drug cheats get a hammering, so should players and officials who cheat.
Ultimately you will never get rid of dodgy sports men and officials, and why should you if you’re in the know. So for the good of sport and those not in the know I hope the police were wrong or the weight of the law drops heavily on their heads.