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Match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
is when the outcome of a match in organized sports has been manipulated. The reason for fixing a match includes ensuring a certain team advances or
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
. Match fixing is seen as one of the biggest problems in organized sports and is considered as a major scandal. This article is a list of match fixing incidents and of matches that are widely suspected of having been fixed.


American football

*The
Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal The Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon, Ohio newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs coach, Blondy W ...
, which is recognized as the first major scandal in professional football history, unfolded after the 1906
Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...
championship series. Canton Bulldogs coach
Blondy Wallace Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early professional football player and later convicted criminal during the Prohibition Era. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University ...
and
Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships ...
end
Walter East Walter Rufus East (March 29, 1883 – August 29, 1930) was a minor league baseball player active between 1903 and 1912. As a second baseman he played for various in the Southern Association, Eastern League, Missouri Valley League, Ohio State Le ...
were accused of conspiring to fix the series. *In 1915, an unidentified gambler made an offer of $150 to
Multnomah Athletic Club The Multnomah Athletic Club is a Social club, private social and Sports club, athletic club in Portland, Oregon, United States. Located in the Goose Hollow, Portland, Oregon, Goose Hollow neighborhood, it was originally founded in 1891 as the M ...
football player L. W. "Patsy" O'Rourke to throw the team's annual
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
game against the University of Oregon football team. O'Rourke approached team captain Red Rupert about the bribe, and the information ultimately made its way to Multnomah's coach. As a result, O'Rourke was benched for the game, which was a 15–2 victory for Oregon. *An attempt was made to fix the 1946 NFL Championship Game between the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, in favor of the latter team. Alvin J. Paris was convicted of bribery in 1947 for soliciting Giants players
Frank Filchock Frank Joseph Filchock (October 8, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American gridiron football player and coach. As a consequence of a famous scandal regarding the 1946 NFL Championship Game, he was suspended by the National Football League (NFL) ...
and
Merle Hapes Merle Alison Hapes (May 19, 1919July 18, 1994) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played two seasons for the New York Giants (1942, 1946). He and quarterback Frank Filchock were involved in ...
. Harvey Stemmer and David "Pete" Karkower were also convicted of bribery for their involvement in the plot. The convictions were upheld on appeal in 1948. *In 1949, Daniel Opalka of
Massena, New York Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12,8 ...
was arrested for allegedly offering Massena High School football player David Walker $200 to fix the team's upcoming game against Saranac Lake High School. Opalka admitted to having a conversation with Walker about fixing the game, but said he was doing so in jest. *In 1960,
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
school teacher David Budin was arrested by
Michigan State Police The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide. The department was founded in 1917 as a wart ...
for allegedly trying to bribe University of Oregon football team member Mickey Bruce in order to fix the outcome of their upcoming game against the University of Michigan football team. According to police, University of Oregon
athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...
Leo Harris Leo A. Harris (August 6, 1904 – April 22, 1990) was an American athlete, coach, and athletic director. He played college football at Stanford University, coached football and basketball at Fresno State College, and was the first athletic directo ...
declined to press charges to spare Bruce from having to be involved further. Budin was released by police after paying a $150 fine because he registered his hotel room under false name. Bruce later alleged sports gambler
Frank Rosenthal Frank Lawrence Rosenthal (June 12, 1929 – October 13, 2008), also known as "Lefty" Rosenthal, was an American professional sports bettor, former Las Vegas casino executive, and organized crime associate. Rosenthal, who was once called "the gre ...
was the mastermind of the plot. *In 1998, four
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
football players were indicted for lying to a federal
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
when they testified they had not placed wagers on their own games in 1994. Only one player— tailback Dennis Lundy—was accused of fixing the game. Lundy denied in front of the grand jury to intentionally fumbling on a play during a game against the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
in 1994. Federal prosecutors attested the fumble was intentional for the purposes of point-shaving. * 2015: On May 6, a federal grand jury in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
indicted six former
University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...
athletes—three each from the school's football and basketball programs—on charges of conspiracy to commit sports bribery in relation to their alleged involvement in a point shaving scheme that ran from 2012 through 2015. It is believed to be the first major U.S. gambling case involving two sports at the same college. Since then, four former Toledo athletes, including at least one not named in the original indictments, have pleaded guilty on charges related to the scheme. One of these, former Rockets running back Quinton Broussard, admitted he had deliberately fumbled during the 2015 GMAC Bowl against
UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...
(a game ultimately won 45–13 by Toledo team found by ( Ásgeirsson Günther ) in exchange for $500, and had been paid to provide confidential team information to one of the orchestrators of the scheme by Ásgeirsson Günther .


Association football

*In 1964, the great British football betting scandal of the 1960s was uncovered: a betting ring organized by Jimmy Gauld and involving several Football League players had been fixing matches. The most famous incident involved three
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
players, including two England international players, who were subsequently banned from football for life and imprisoned after it was discovered they had bet on their team losing a match against
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
. A similar scandal had occurred in 1915. * 1980 Italian football scandal (''"Totonero"''): In May 1980, the largest match fixing scandal in the history of Italian football was uncovered by Italian
Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...
, after the spalling of two Roman shopkeepers, Alvaro Trinca and Massimo Cruciani, who declared that some Italian football players sold the football-matches for money, implicating, among others,
AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
and
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
. Teams were suspected of rigging games by selecting favorable referees, with superstar Italian World Cup team goalkeeper
Enrico Albertosi Enrico "Ricky" Albertosi (; born 2 November 1939) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever goalkeepers, he had a successful club career, winning titles with Fiorentina, Cagliari, and Mi ...
and future
1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
winner Paolo Rossi being banned for betting on football games. Both clubs were forcibly relegated to
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
and the ringleader of the scheme, Milan president
Felice Colombo Felice Colombo (born 24 August 1937) is an Italian businessman, past chairman of A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, It ...
, received a lifetime ban. *In 1981, a mob of about 500 people took over the pitch during a
Panionios F.C. Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...
practice amid accusations that team trainer
Lakis Petropoulos Lakis Petropoulos ( el, Λάκης Πετρόπουλος, 29 August 1932 – 30 June 1996) was a Greece, Greek association football, football player and manager. He played for Panathinaikos F.C., Panathinaikos and capped 3 times for Greece natio ...
helped fix a match against P.A.S. Korinthos that resulted in a 0–0 draw. Police assisted Petropoulos to safety. *During the
1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
played a game on 25 June known as the
Disgrace of Gijón The "Disgrace of Gijón" is the name given to a 1982 FIFA World Cup football match played between West Germany and Austria at the El Molinón stadium in Gijón, Spain, on 25 June 1982. The match was the sixth and last game of the first-round G ...
due to accusations that both teams had fixed the match. *In 1986, the
Yugoslavian Football Association The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) ( sr, Фудбалски савез Југославије, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije, hr, Nogometni savez Jugoslavije; bs, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije; sl, Nogometna zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Фуд ...
ruled that the first round playoffs of the
Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
had to be replayed after accusations of match fixing were made against several teams by the press. Twelve of the league's 18 teams were penalized. A court later dismissed the penalties against the clubs. * In February 1999 a
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n-based betting syndicate was caught attempting to install a remote-control device to sabotage the floodlights at
FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
team
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
's ground, with the aid of a corrupt security officer. If the match had been abandoned after half-time, then the result and bets would have stood. Subsequent investigations showed that the gang had been responsible for previously unsuspected "floodlight failures" at West Ham's ground in November 1997, and again a month later at Crystal Palace's ground during a home match of Palace's groundsharing tenant
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
. *The Italian Football Federation said in October 2000 it had found eight players guilty of match-fixing. Three were from Serie A side
Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...
and the other five played for Serie B side
Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...
. The players were Giacomo Banchelli,
Cristiano Doni Cristiano Doni (; born 1 April 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, on either flank or in the middle. Most of his professional career (which spanned two decades) was associated with Atalanta, ...
and
Sebastiano Siviglia Sebastiano Siviglia (born 29 March 1973) is an Italian football coach and a former player who played as a defender. Throughout his career, Siviglia played over 250 matches in the Italian Serie A for several clubs, in particular Lazio, where h ...
(all Atalanta) and Alfredo Aglietti,
Massimiliano Allegri Massimiliano Allegri (; born 11 August 1967), also known as Max Allegri, is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Juventus. During his playing career, Allegri played in the Serie A as a midfielder ...
, Daniele Amerini, Gianluca Lillo and Girolamo Bizzarri (all Pistoiese). The charges related to an Italian Cup first round tie between the two sides in
Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
on August 20, 2000, which ended 1–1. Atalanta scored at the end of the first half and Pistoiese equalised three minutes from full-time. Atalanta qualified for the second round. Snai, which organises betting on Italian football, said later it had registered suspiciously heavy betting on the result and many of the bets were for a 1–0 halftime score and a full-time score of 1–1. *In 2004, Portuguese Police launched the operation Apito Dourado and named several Portuguese club presidents and football personalities as suspects of match fixing, including
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
's chairman Pinto da Costa. Some of the wiretaps used as proof, deemed inadmissible in court, can now be found on YouTube. * In June 2004 in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, thirty-three people (including nineteen
referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
, club officials, a match commissioner and an official of the
South African Football Association The South African Football Association (colloquially known as SAFA) is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Football ...
) were arrested on match-fixing charges. * 2005 German football match-fixing scandal: In January 2005, the
German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...
(DFB) and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
prosecutors launched separate probes into charges that referee Robert Hoyzer bet on and fixed several matches that he worked, including a
German Cup The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
tie. Hoyzer later admitted to the allegations; it has been reported that he was involved with
Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
gambling syndicates, and also implicated other referees and players in the match fixing scheme. The first arrests in the Hoyzer investigation were made on January 28 in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, and Hoyzer himself was arrested on February 12 after new evidence apparently emerged to suggest that he had been involved in fixing more matches than he had admitted to. Hoyzer has been banned for life from football by the DFB. On March 10, a second referee, Dominik Marks, was arrested after being implicated in the scheme by Hoyzer. Still later (March 24), it was reported that Hoyzer had told investigators that the gambling ring he was involved with had access to
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
's referee assignments for international matches and Champions League and
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
fixtures several days before UEFA publicly announced them. Ultimately, Hoyzer was sentenced to serve 2 years and 5 months in prison. * In July 2005,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...
champions
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
was downgraded to last place in the division by the sporting justice, and therefore condemned to relegation in
Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...
, after it was revealed that they bribed their opponents in the final match of the season,
Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...
to throw the match. Club president Enrico Preziozi was banned for five years after being guilty by the sporting justice. Genoa won the match 3–2 and had apparently secured promotion to
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
. *
Brazilian football match-fixing scandal Máfia do Apito (literally ''The Whistle Mafia''), sometimes referred to as the Escândalo do Apito (''The Whistle Scandal''), was the name given by the Brazilian press to the football match-fixing scandal reported by Veja magazine on 23 Septemb ...
: In September 2005, a
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian magazine revealed that two football referees, Edílson Pereira de Carvalho (a member of
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
's referee staff) and Paulo José Danelon, had accepted bribes to fix matches. Soon afterwards, sport authorities ordered the replaying of 11 matches in the country's top competition, the Campeonato Brasileiro, that had been worked by Edílson. Both referees have been banned for life from football and face criminal charges. Brazilian supporters have taken to shout "Edílson" at a referee who they consider to have made a bad call against their team, in a reference to the scandal. *2008 ''The Fix'': Book by
Declan Hill Declan Hill is a journalist, academic and consultant. He is one of the world’s foremost experts on match-fixing and corruption in international sports. In 2008, Hill, as a Chevening Scholar, obtained his doctorate in Sociology at the University ...
alleges that in the 2006 World Cup, the group game between Ghana and Italy, the round-of-16 game between Ghana and Brazil, and the Italy-Ukraine quarter-final were all fixed by Asian gambling syndicates to whom the final scores were known in advance. The
German Football Federation The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge o ...
(DFB) and
German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''Ameri ...
(DFL) looked into claims made in a ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' interview with Hill that two
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
matches were fixed by William Bee Wah Lim a fugitive with a 2004 conviction for match-fixing. *2008: On October 1, it was reported that a
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
judge who headed an investigation against
Russian Mafia Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...
figures uncovered information alleging that the mobsters may have attempted to fix the
2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England on 14 May 2008 between Rangers of Scotland and Zenit Saint Pet ...
semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
between eventual champion
Zenit St. Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...
and
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
. Both clubs denied any knowledge of the alleged scheme. Prosecutors in the German state of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, home to Bayern, later announced that they did not have enough evidence to justify a full investigation. *2008: On October 4, suspicious online betting on the game between
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
and
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
led some to question the validity of the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
match. Gamblers in Asia were said to have placed a large amount of money down during halftime, which raised concerns over the outcome. The inquiry by
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
found no evidence that would suggest the match was fixed. Derby County ended up winning the match 2–1. * In November 2009, German police arrested 17 people on suspicion of fixing at least 200 soccer matches in 9 countries. Among the suspected games were those from the top leagues of Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and Turkey, and games from the second highest leagues of Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. Three contests from the Champions League were also under investigation, and 12 from the Europa League. * From 2009 to 2011, a large-scale 2009–2013 investigation by the Ministry of Public Security of China revealed many match-fixing scandals that occurred mainly between 2003 and 2009 in Chinese top-two tier leagues. As a result, Shanghai Shenhua F.C. was stripped of their 2003 top-tier league title. Former vice presidents of
Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...
Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin were sentenced to 10.5 years in jail.
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
referee Lu Jun, and
China national football team The China national football team (, recognised as China PR by FIFA) represents the People's Republic of China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association. China won the EAFF East Asian Cup in 2005 ...
players
Shen Si Shen Si () (born 1 May 1973 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as a left midfielder where he gained a reputation for his technical and free kick skills, which saw him become a runner-up in the 2004 Free Kick Ma ...
,
Jiang Jin Jiang Jin (; born October 17, 1968 in Tianjin) is a former Chinese international football goalkeeper. He was the first-choice goalkeeper for China during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Along with his older brother Jiang Hong he also became a goalke ...
,
Qi Hong Qi Hong (; born June 3, 1976 in Shanghai) is a former Chinese international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or shadow striker throughout his career. At Shanghai Shenhua he won the league and Chinese FA Cup with them before co ...
, Li Ming, were sentenced to 5.5 years or 6 years in jail. *In June 2011, trials started for people allegedly involved in fixing
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
football matches. One team,
Tampere United Tampere United is a Finnish football club from the city of Tampere. The club plays in Kakkonen, the third highest level of football in Finland. The club had a team in Veikkausliiga, the premier football league in Finland, until the end of the ...
was indefinitely suspended from Finnish football for accepting payments from a person known for match-fixing. * In July 2011, as part of a major match-fixing investigation by authorities in Turkey, nearly 60 people suspected to be involved with fixing games were detained by İstanbul Police Department Organized Crime Control Bureau and then arrested by the court. Fenerbahçe Sports Club executives were acquitted of the match-fixing case with the decision announced on 6 November 2020. The members of the Gulen Movement (Fetullahist Terror Organization as referred by the Government of Turkey) who organized the match-fixing plot were given thousands of years of sentences. Fenerbahçe Sports Club, filed a 250 million TL lawsuit against the TFF (Turkish Football Federation) for compensation for any damage it suffered due to the match-fixing conspiracy. *The
Match fixing investigations of Norwegian Second Division The match-fixing investigations of the Norwegian 2. divisjon association football league are two ongoing investigations that started in 2012 in Norway and in Sweden. The investigations have resulted in police charges currently pending against ten ...
saw Norway and Sweden arresting individuals in 2012, including players of
Follo FK Follo Fotballklubb is a football club from Ski, Viken, Norway. Follo play in light blue, and their home ground is Ski stadion. It was founded in September 2000 and their biggest achievement was playing in the 2010 Norwegian Football Cup Final ...
and
Asker Fotball Asker Fotball is the football department of Norwegian sports club Asker SK from Asker. The women's football team is one of the most successful clubs ever in Norway, with 6 top flight championships and 5 cup championships. Due to financial diff ...
. * Operation VETO, a Europol investigation announced in 2013 that identified 380 fixed association football matches in 15 countries. * The 2013 Lebanese football match-fixing scandal involved 24 players, with two (
Ramez Dayoub Ramez Jamal Dayoub ( ar, رامز جمال ديوب; born 9 August 1984) is a Lebanese former professional footballer who played as a defender. A former Lebanon national team player, Dayoub played in Lebanon, Myanmar, Bahrain, and Malaysia, be ...
and
Mahmoud El Ali Mahmoud Mohamad El Ali ( ar, محمود محمد العلي; born 4 March 1984) is a Lebanese former professional footballer who played as a striker. El Ali represented the Lebanon national team, scoring 12 goals in 46 games, before being bann ...
) being banned from the sport for life. * In December 2013, six people in Britain, including Blackburn forward
DJ Campbell Dudley Junior Campbell (born 12 November 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Campbell's early career was in non-League football between 2000 and 2005, during which time he was capped by England C. Follo ...
, were arrested for allegedly fixing football games. The arrests were made by the
National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...
after release of a report from FederBet, a Brussels-based gambling ''
watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...
'', an organization created by the online bookmakers to watch the ''flow'' of bets across Europe. *In 2016,
Zimbabwe Football Association The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is the governing body of football in Zimbabwe. It is responsible for organising national football competitions in Zimbabwe and managing the Zimbabwe national football teams. The current ZIFA was founded ...
(ZIFA) president
Phillip Chiyangwa Phillip Chiyangwa (born 23 February 1959) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served in the Zimbabwean government. His appointment as the head of Zimbabwe's football association led to controversy and he has been associated with various land dispute ...
gave a news conference where he accused the
Zimbabwe national football team The Zimbabwe national football team (Nicknamed ''The Warriors''), represents Zimbabwe in men's international football and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), formerly known as the Football Association of Rhodesia. The t ...
of fixing matches during the
African Nations Championship The African Nations Championship (french: Championnat d'Afrique des Nations; abbreviated as CHAN), known as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a biennial African national association football tourname ...
in January. ZIFA executive committee member Edzai Kasinauyo was suspended for allegedly helping fix an upcoming match against
Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
.
Callisto Pasuwa Callisto Pasuwa is a Zimbabwean soccer coach who is currently the head coach of the Malawi Big Bullets FC. He is also former coach of Dynamos Football Club. Pasuwa led Dynamos to four consecutive league titles as coach from 2011 to 2014 writing h ...
, who was the
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of Zimbabwe national team, was one of the
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
s. *On January 4 2023, a friendly match between two French amateur teams was held, one of which intentionally scored seven own goals to protest against
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
's Islamophobic politics. The match ended 13-0.


Australian football

*In 1910, several members of the
Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...
in the
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
were implicated in a match-fixing scandal. Alex Lang and Doug Fraser were both suspended for five years (99 matches) for their part in the scheme, while
Doug Gillespie Douglas James Gillespie (13 December 1887 – 6 January 1947) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Family One of the eight children (five boys and three girls) of James Gillespie ...
was briefly dropped by Carlton, but was readmitted to the club before the
Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
when the league's report on the scandal exonerated him. *In 2009, allegations arose that the
Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
had purposely lost matches to get a better pick in the upcoming
Australian Football League draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL). History ...
. An investigation by the AFL exonerated Melbourne after finding no evidence they tanked.


Badminton

*In 1985, English badminton player Steve Baddeley told ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', "There is no doubt at all that the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
sometimes fix matches". Denmark badminton player Kirsten Larsen accused Chinese players
Li Lingwei Li Lingwei (, born January 4, 1964) is a Chinese badminton player of the 1980s. She was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2012, and in December 2016, she was elected Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. L ...
and
Han Aiping Han Aiping (; April 22, 1962 – October 16, 2019) was a Chinese badminton player in the 1980s who ranks among the greats of the woman's game. Noted for her superb overhead strokes, she and her teammate, rival, and sometimes doubles partner Li ...
of fixing their finals match during that year's
Chinese National Badminton Championships The Chinese National Badminton Championships is a tournament organized to crown the best badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most ...
. *In 2008, Chinese badminton coach
Li Yongbo Li Yongbo (; born September 18, 1962) is a retired Chinese male badminton player and the former head coach of Chinese National Badminton Team. Career As a player, he was a men's doubles specialist noted for his quickness, reflexes, and power. ...
admitted to fixing a match during the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. As a response, the
Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
created an integrity panel to investigate alleged match fixing incidents in badminton. *During the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, several of the Badminton women's doubles matches came under scrutiny from Olympic officials and the
Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
(BWF). Eight players were ejected from games for failing to use their “best efforts” to win their matches. There was no evidence that the games were thrown for gambling purposes; instead the teams deliberately under-performed in
round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...
stage matches to get a favorable seeding in the
knockout tournament A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...
stage. See
Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's doubles The badminton women's doubles tournament at the 2012 Olympic Games in London took place from 28 July to 4 August at Wembley Arena. The draw for the tournament was made on 23 July 2012. Thirty-two players from 14 nations competed in the event. ...
for details. *During the 2014 Japan Open, Danish Badminton Athletes Commission president
Hans-Kristian Vittinghus Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus (born 16 January 1986) is a Danish badminton player. He was a member of the winning Denmark team at the 2016 Thomas Cup in Kunshan, China. Career Junior He won 4 junior national titles, 2 in singles in 2003 ...
was asked via
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
by a man he met from prior tournaments if he would be interested in fixing matches. Vittinghus declined and later found out the same person approached
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
player
Kim Astrup Kim Astrup Sørensen (born 6 March 1992) is a Danish badminton player. As junior player, he won the bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships in the boys' doubles. He later won a gold in the mixed doubles and bronze medals in the boys' ...
with the same offer. The two went to the
Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
(BWF) who then requested they re-engage the person in order to find out their identity. *In 2018, the
Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
(BWF) issued suspensions of 15 and 20 years for
Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
players Tan Chun Seang and
Zulfadli Zulkiffli Zulfadli bin Zulkiffli (born 11 February 1993) is a former Malaysian badminton player. He was the boys' singles gold medalists at the 2011 Asian and World Junior Championships, also at the Commonwealth Youth Games. In 2018, Zulkiffli was fo ...
, respectively, for fixing matches during various 2013 tournaments. The BWF convinced an independent panel to investigate allegations made by an unnamed
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
. The investigation found that Zulkiffli had fixed at least four matches which accounted for 31 infractions under BWF rules.


Baseball

*A game in September 1865 which resulted in a 23–11 victory for the
Eckford of Brooklyn Eckford of Brooklyn, or simply Eckford, was an American baseball club from 1855 to 1872. When the Union Grounds opened on May 15, 1862 for baseball in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it became the first enclosed baseball grounds in America. Three clubs cal ...
over the
New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was a leading American baseball club almost throughout its 20-year history. It was established during 1857, the year of the first baseball convention, just too late to be a founding member of the National Asso ...
was fixed according to confessions by those involved. Mutuals
catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
Bill Wansley was approached by gambler Kane McLoughlin to throw the game for $100. Wansley enlisted the help of the Mutuals
third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
Ed Duffy Edward Charles Duffy (1844 – October 16, 1888) was an Irish-born professional baseball player. He played one season in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major profe ...
who agreed to participate if they included
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
Thomas Devyr Thomas Devyr (1844 – January 22, 1896) was an American baseball player who played shortstop for the Brooklyn Eckfords during their team's championship seasons of 1862 and 1863. Later, in 1867, he confessed, along with two other New York Mutuals ...
. Wansley took the two players by
wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
to the Hoboken Ferry where the payment was divided. Duffy and Devyr both received $30 each and Wansley kept $40 for himself. The fielding of those in on the fix—particularly Wansley's performance—was so poor that rumors of a fix began almost instantly. Wansley had so many
passed ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a ru ...
s during the game that he was moved to
right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
in the seventh inning. Henry Chadwick wrote about the game for the ''
New York Clipper The ''New York Clipper'', also known as ''The Clipper'', was a weekly entertainment newspaper published in New York City from 1853 to 1924. It covered many topics, including circuses, dance, music, the outdoors, sports, and theatre. It had a ...
'' and defended Wansley against the fixing allegations. Mutuals players who were not in on the fix became suspicious of Wansley and accused him of "wilful and designated inattention". After a formal investigation, Wansley admitted to the fix and the three players were banned from organized baseball. Devyr was allowed to return in 1867 for a short time before two complaints from opposing teams were filed against the Mutuals. In December 1867, baseball's National Commission voted to reinstate Devyr. Duffy returned to the Mutuals in 1868, but was not reinstated by the National Commission, which led to one of the Mutuals opponents to file a complaint to void the games Duffy appeared in. The complaint was successful and the Mutuals were briefly expelled from organized baseball. The final convention of the amateur baseball National Commission was held on November 30, 1870. At the convention, Mutuals president John Wildly motioned to reinstate Wansley to good standing which was approved. *On July 24, 1873
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
Bob Ferguson declared a game between
Baltimore Canaries The Baltimore Canaries were a professional baseball club in the National Association from 1872 to 1874. History The team was usually listed as Lord Baltimore in the box scores of the day, and were also referred to as the Yellow Stockings. The can ...
and the
New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was a leading American baseball club almost throughout its 20-year history. It was established during 1857, the year of the first baseball convention, just too late to be a founding member of the National Asso ...
fixed by gamblers. Ferguson went into the stands to confront the gamblers following the game and then went back down to the field to confront players he believed were in on the fix. Two of the Mutuals players— John Hatfield and
Nat Hicks Nathaniel Woodhull "Nat" Hicks (April 19, 1845 – April 21, 1907) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for six seasons, two in the National League. Hicks was one of the first catchers ...
—began accusing each other of being in on the fix. Hicks eventually grabbed a
baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...
and struck Ferguson in the arm which caused it to break. Ferguson, who was also a player as well as an umpire, was unable to play for one year because of the injury. No actions were taken against Hicks or any other player. *In 1875, the St. Paul Red Caps and the Winona Clippers split a two-game championship series. Rumors gained steam after the series that two Clippers players—Frank Smith and W. W. Fisher—had worked with gamblers to fix the games. Fisher signed a confession that he accepted $250 from an unidentified gambler. *In 1877, four players for the
Louisville Grays The Louisville Grays were a 19th-century United States baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were a ...
were banned from organized baseball for
throwing games Throwing sports, or throwing games, are physical, human competitions where the outcome is measured by a player's ability to throw an object. The two primary forms are throwing for distance and throwing at a given target or range. The four most p ...
. ''
Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...
'' sports writer
John Haldeman John Avery Haldeman (December 2, 1855–September 17, 1899) was a journalist who played one game for Major League Baseball's Louisville Grays in the 1877 season. Early life Haldeman was born on December 2, 1855 in Pewee Valley, Kentucky.Connel ...
, whose father Walter Haldeman owned the team, became suspicious of the play of the four members of the Grays and began writing in his columns that he believed the players were purposefully losing. His columns led to a formal investigation and four players—
Jim Devlin James Alexander Devlin (June 6, 1849 – October 10, 1883) was an American Major League Baseball player who played mainly as a first baseman early in his career, then as a pitcher in the latter part. He played for three teams during his five ...
, George Hall,
Al Nichols Alfred Henry Nichols (born as Alfred Henry Williams; February 14, 1852 – June 18, 1936) was an English Major League Baseball player for three seasons. Born in Worcester, England, he played for three different teams, and mainly played as a t ...
and
Bill Craver William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for seven ...
—were banned from organized professional baseball for life. Carver's involvement in the plot is debated by baseball historians including Bob Bailey for the
Society of American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...
. *In 1882, due to his associations with gamblers,
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
Dick Higham Richard Higham (July 24, 1851 – March 18, 1905) was an English born professional baseball player born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England and currently the only umpire to be banned from baseball. Biography He was born on July 24, 1851, in Ipswich, ...
was banned from organized baseball for life. The information was uncovered by
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
s hired by owners of the
Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...
, who suspected Higham of fixing games. *In 1908,
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
Jim Johnstone and
Bill Klem William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm (February 22, 1874 – September 16, 1951), known as the "Old Arbitrator" and the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League (NL) umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941. He worked ...
reported to the league office that they were approached before a make-up game between the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
and the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and offered money to fix the game. The make-up game was on account of a baserunning mistake by
Fred Merkle Carl Frederick Rudolf Merkle (also sometimes documented as Frederick Charles Merkle; December 20, 1888 – March 2, 1956), nicknamed "Bonehead", was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1926. Although he had a lengthy c ...
known as "
Merkle's Boner Merkle's Boner refers to the notorious base-running mistake committed by rookie Fred Merkle of the New York Giants in a game against the Chicago Cubs on September 23, 1908. Merkle's failure to advance to second base on what should have been a ga ...
". *An
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
game on September 25, 1919, between the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
and
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
was fixed according to letters ascertained by league president
Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the mino ...
in 1926. The letters were between Detroit
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...
and Cleveland outfielder
Smokey Joe Wood Howard Ellsworth "Smoky Joe" Wood (October 25, 1889 – July 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player for 14 years. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1908 to 1915, where he was primarily a pitcher, and for the Cleveland Indi ...
. They were sold to Johnson by
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Dutch Leonard who was one of the four players in on the fix along with Cobb, Wood and Cleveland
player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career bat ...
. According to Leonard, Cobb suggested the players place bets on the game which they had already agreed to fix. Cobb denied placing any bets, but did confess to being involved in the fix. According to a retrospective of events by the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' in 1989, Leonard went to Johnson with the letters in 1926 after he became embittered at Cobb and Wood whom he felt had a hand in ending his career early. Johnson initially turned Leonard away and he went to Detroit owner
Frank Navin Francis Joseph Navin (April 18, 1871 – November 13, 1935) was the president of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball for 27 years, from 1908 to 1935. He was part-owner from 1908 to 1919, and principal owner from 1919 to 1935. He also ser ...
with the letters. Navin advised Johnson to make a payment to Leonard to keep the letters from going public. Johnson then agreed to pay Leonard $20,000 for the letters. Following the 1926 season, Johnson called a secret meeting with Cobb and Speaker, who were the managers of their respective teams. Johnson laid out the facts and advised the men to resign their positions as managers, which both did. Cobb and Speaker both retired from playing in 1928 and neither took another managerial job. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
broke the story on December 21, 1926. *In 1919, gamblers bribed several members of the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
to throw the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
. This became known as the
Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate led ...
and was recounted in the 1963 book, ''Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series'' — which was later adapted for film. *Following the 1919
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(PCL) season,
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
Babe Borton William Baker "Babe" Borton (August 14, 1888 – July 29, 1954) was a Major League Baseball first baseman. Borton played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Terriers, and St. Louis Browns from 1912 to 1916. He stood . Biograph ...
alleged that as a member of the pennant winning
Vernon Tigers The Vernon Tigers were a Minor League Baseball team that represented Vernon, California in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1909 to 1925. The team won back-to-back PCL pennants in 1919 and 1920. The Tigers, together with the Sacramento Solons, ...
, he was party to pay-offs to all other PCL teams to ensure they would lose to Vernon. Borton alleged that every member of the Tigers pooled their money to make the pay-offs. Nate Raymond of
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
was responsible for the payments according to Borton.
Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
first baseman Rod Murphy alleged that Raymond offered him a $2,000 bribe during the 1920 season and confided that during the 1919 season he won $50,000 from gambling on fixed PCL games. Ultimately no player was faced criminal charges. The PCL banned several players for life, but some like
Bill Rumler William George Rumler (March 27, 1891 – May 26, 1966), known as James Rumler during the 1918 season, and Red Moore during the 1921 season, was a professional baseball player, whose career spanned 19 seasons, three of which were spent in Major Le ...
was reinstated after several years. *On September 27, 1924, before a game between the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
, Giants backup
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
Jimmy O'Connell approached Phillies
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
Heinie Sand with a $500 bribe for to throw the game. If the Giants beat the Phillies it would have clinched them the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
pennant and a trip to the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
. Sand rejected the offer and reported the incident which made its way up to the
Commissioner of Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...
Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...
. O'Connell confessed that he did attempt to bribe Sand, but contended Giants coach
Cozy Dolan Patrick Henry "Cozy" Dolan (December 3, 1872 – March 29, 1907) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Beaneaters, Chicago Orphans, Brooklyn Superbas, Chicago White Sox and ...
had put him up to it. Landis suspended O'Connell and Dolan from organized baseball for life. *On June 5, 1947, National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues president
George Trautman George M. "Red" Trautman (January 11, 1890 – June 25, 1963) was an American baseball executive and college men's basketball coach. Ohio State As an undergraduate at the Ohio State University, Trautman was a three-sport letterwinner in footbal ...
banned
Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
Marion McElreath for attempting to bribe an opposing player to fix a game on May 4. 1947. *In 1947, a report by National Commission president William G. Bramham found that five players in the
Evangeline League The Evangeline League began in 1934 as a six–team Class D level minor league with teams based in Louisiana, United States, later adding Mississippi and Texas based franchises. In 1935, the league was expanded to eight teams and ceased operation ...
, a
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
based in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, fixed several playoff games in 1946 for gambling purposes. For their role in the alleged plot, the five players—Bill Thomas, Lanny Pecou, Alvin W. Kaiser, Paul Fugit and Don Vettorel—were banned from
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...
for life. An investigation of the alleged actions of the five players by
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...
writer George W. Hilton found little proof that there was any match-fixing. One of the accused players, Bill Thomas, pitched a perfect 5–0 record in the playoffs. Hilton conducted an interview with an unnamed player in the Evangeline League who claimed he was approached to be a part of the fixing scheme, but declined. The unnamed player contended that the plot failed, which was highlighted by one instance where a player who was in on the fix tried to strike out but made contact with the ball for a
double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...
. *Between 1969 and 1971, a series of events known as The Black Mist Scandal rocked
Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
(NPB) in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It was revealed that several NPB players had been paid off to fix games for gamblers. Ten players were banned from the NPB for life with several other players receiving penalties ranging from salary cuts to suspensions. *In 1978,
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
Bárbaro Garbey Bárbaro Garbey ( ; born December 4, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball utility player and minor league coach. Garbey played in the outfield, at first and third bases, and also served as designated hitter. Playing Career Garbey defected fr ...
was banned from Cuban baseball for his part in match-fixing. He defected from
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1980 and later that year signed a contract with the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
to join their
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
organization. The match-fixing incidents were revealed for the first time in the American press on May 22, 1983, by the ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
''. In an interview with Garbey, ''Herald'' writer Peter Richmond brought up match-fixing allegations and Garbey admitted to playing a part in the scheme. Garbey was allowed to continue his minor league career, but the Tigers were prevented from calling him up by the ruling of the National Commission president John H. Johnson. The ruling was lifted in 1984 and the Tigers called Garbey up from the minors. Garbey later returned to Cuba and became a
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
. *In 1982, the ten members of the
Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...
who participated in that year's Central American and Caribbean Games were arrested and sentenced to between two and four years in prison for fixing games. *In 1997, 22 players in the
Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...
were sentenced to between seven and 30 months in prison for match-fixing. So many of the members of
China Times Eagles The China Times Eagles () is a defunct professional baseball team belonging to the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) that existed between 1993 and 1997. History Originally formed as an amateur club Black Eagles in 1990, this club was pu ...
were involved in the plot that the team fielded mostly
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
s in that season's championship series. *In 2005,
Yunlin County Yunlin County (Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County t ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
prosecutor Wei-yu Hsu announced indictments of 16 baseball players, book makers and others involved in fixing
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...
games. Five of the 16 people were players in the
Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...
and one of them was a coach. Hsu named Macoto Cobras coach Sheng-fong Tsai and
La New Bears LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
Chao-ying Chen as being the orchestrators of the fixings. One of the instances included in the indictment was evidence that La New Bears
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Long-shui Tai was paid by Chen to throw a game on July 14, 2005. Chen confessed to investigators that he accepted a payment of
NT$ The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...
600,000 to throw the game. *In 2008, three players were suspended indefinitely from the
Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...
(CPBL) for match-fixing. Prosecutors said evidence of the fixing came to light after police detained six members of
dmedia T-REX The dmedia T-REX (米迪亞暴龍) was a professional baseball team belonging to the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). History The history of the team can be traced back to early 2001, when local Macoto Bank started to sponsor Taiwan ...
and four people identified as
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...
s. T-Rex executive director Shih Chien-hsin confessed to police that hatched the plan with people identified as "gangsters" by the ''
Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is the only printed daily English-language newspaper in Taiwan, and the third established there. Online competitors include the state-owned ''Focus Taiwan'' and ''Taiwan News''; ''The China Post'' was formerly a competit ...
''. The three players banned from the CBPL were
catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
Chen Ker-fan,
center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
Chen Yuan-chia and pitcher
Cory Bailey Phillip Cory Bailey (born January 24, 1971) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball between and . He batted and threw right-handed. Biography A Crab Orchard High School and Marion High School graduate, Ba ...
. Chen Ker-fan and Chen Yuan-chia, who were both from
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, were arrested and released on
NT$ The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...
50,000 in bail each. Bailey, who is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
national and previously played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, was arrested and released on a NT$100,000 bond. In 2008, Taiwan's
Criminal Investigation Bureau The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB; ) is the agency of National Police Agency under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of China. History The modern criminal police system of the Republic of China was originally established in 1946 ...
looked into a total of 102 illegal betting allegations in the CPBL, which involved a total of 222 suspects. *In 2009, another match-fixing scandal hit the
Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...
(CPBL). Following the season, allegations arose that the
Brother Elephants A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
—one of Taiwan's most popular baseball clubs—had accepted money to lose during that year's
Taiwan Series Taiwan Series () is the championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). It is usually played in late October or early November, after the regular season. It was formerly known as the ''CPBL Seasonal Championship Series'' () ...
against the Uni-President 7-11 Lions. By the end of a prosecutor's investigation, 23 Elephants players had been named as being in on the fix, including pitcher
Chin-hui Tsao Chin-Hui Tsao (; born June 2, 1981) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He is the second major league player, and the first major league pitcher from Taiwan. Like the first Taiwanese major league player, former Los Angeles Dodg ...
, who was the first Taiwanese pitcher to play in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
. Tsao denies having any involvement with match-fixings. In 2009,
President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...
Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...
convinced a meeting to address the systemic match fixing problems in the CPBL after numerous incidents. Penalties for match-fixing were re-written to mirror the laws governing lotteries, which called for up to 10 years in prison for fraud. *During the
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and
2013 Major League Baseball season The 2013 Major League Baseball season started on March 31 with a Sunday night game between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.
s, allegations were made by gamber Kris Barr that he was in on fixing
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
games with
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Jeff Locke. After an investigation, it was found that Barr had no contact with Locke relating to fixing games. Instead, Barr felt slighted by Locke—whom he knew from youth baseball—and created an elaborate story to damage his reputation. The
Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-plat ...
and ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' released the details of the events on August 18, 2014, which included reporting on the aggressive tactics of the MLB investigators led by retired
New York Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
officer Rick Burnham. Locke recalled that the MLB investigators told him that they had proof that he was in on fixing games and pressured him to confess, in spite of his pleas of innocence and the fact the investigators presented no proof. *In 2016,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n police released information about an alleged match-fixing scheme in the
Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...
(KBO) dating back to 2014 that involved 21 people—three of whom played in the KBO. Pitchers Chang-sik Yoo and Sung-min Lee were named by police in the probe and one player was identified only by his surname 'Kim'.


Basketball

*In 1946,
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...
players admitted to conspiring to fix an upcoming game set to take place on January 31, 1945, against the
University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...
. Brooklyn players Henry Rosen and Harvey Stemmer were convicted of "conspiracy to cheat and defraud" on May 9, 1945. Stemmer was immediately sentenced to one year in the state penitentiary and a $500 fine. Rosen was sentenced on May 16 and in spite of the jury's request that the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veteran receive leniency Judge Louis Goldstein also sentenced Rosen to one year in the state penitentiary. His sentence was reduced to 15 to 30 months in state prison by Manhattan's General Sessions Court Judge Gould Schurman, Jr. a month later. *In 1951, in the
CCNY point shaving scandal The CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1950–51 was a college basketball point-shaving gambling scandal that involved seven American schools in all, with four in the New York metropolitan area, two in the Midwest, and one in the South. However, most o ...
, District Attorney
Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...
indicted college basketball players for
point shaving In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a p ...
from four New York schools, including CCNY,
Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...
,
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
and
Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...
. *In 1961, Joseph Hacken and Aaron Wagman were arrested in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
for arranging fixes of college basketball games. The fixed games according to New York
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...
were the Connecticut–Colgate game in
Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...
and the Seton Hall–Dayton game at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. *In 1978–79, mobsters connected with the New York
Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...
, among them
Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testi ...
and Jimmy Burke, organized a point shaving scheme with key members of the
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
. *In 1981, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) announced they were looking into allegations of point shaving during three
Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
basketball games in February 1981. The
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...
reported that the three games being investigated were
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
at
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
on February 9,
Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
at
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
on February 14 and
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
at
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
on February 21. No further allegations were made and nothing materialized from the FBI investigation. *In 1985,
Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
(New Orleans, Louisiana) players were involved in a point shaving scheme that led to the disbandment of the program for four years. *In 1987, Phoenix Police investigated allegations that unidentified members of the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
team were bribed with
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
in exchange for shaving points. The game in question was the February 21, 1987 Suns game against the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
. Handicappers from the Stardust Resort and Casino and
Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...
testified to a
Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
that there were no suspicious wagers placed on the game. * In 1994, a comprehensive
point shaving In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team from covering a p ...
scheme organized by campus bookmaker
Benny Silman Benny Silman of New York City is a former student turned campus bookmaker who was prison, jailed for masterminding a point shaving scandal at Arizona State University. Career In 1998, Silman pleaded guilty to charges that he bribery, bribed college ...
and involving players from the
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
men's basketball team was uncovered with the assistance of
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
bookmakers, who grew suspicious over repeated large wagers being made against Arizona State. *In April 2011, a U.S. federal grand jury in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
indicted a group of 10 individuals on charges of running a point shaving scheme affecting an as yet-undetermined number of college basketball games. Three of the accused had ties to the
University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...
's men's basketball team—one was then the team's all-time leader in points and assists; another was a former player; and the third was a former assistant. Games at the
University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
, where the second indicted player also played, were also mentioned as potentially being fixed. *In 2015,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n police announced they were investigating alleged match fixing in the
Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...
, which involved a total of 11 players with at least one of them suspected of intentionally missing shots in an attempt to change the outcome of a game. The other players in the investigation had allegedly placed wagers on sports betting websites. * On 22 January 2016, ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst broke the news on
Bomani Jones Bomani Babatunde Jones (born August 26, 1980) is an American sports journalist who is currently employed by ESPN. He was the co-host of '' Highly Questionable'' with Dan Le Batard, before leaving the show in June 2017 to develop his own show, ' ...
's show, that players from the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
team the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
threw a regular season game against the
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
in an attempt to get head coach
David Blatt David Michael Blatt ( he, דוד מיכאל בלאט; born May 22, 1959), is an Israeli-American professional basketball executive. He is also a former coach and player. Blatt played point guard at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 and p ...
fired. *In 2017, eight members of the Siliwangi Bandung in the
Indonesian Basketball League The Indonesian Basketball League (IBL; id, Liga Bola Basket Indonesia) is the preeminent men's professional basketball league in Indonesia, founded by Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) in 2003. From 2010 to 2015 it was known as the Na ...
were expelled from the league for fixing at least four games. Danny Kosasih, chairman of the
Indonesian Basketball Association Persatuan Bola Basket Seluruh Indonesia ( en, Indonesian Basketball Association), abbreviated as PERBASI, is the main basketball regulatory organizations in Indonesia. Founded on 23 October 1951, the organization has its headquarters in Jakarta. ...
, said he received proof of the match fixing through recorded audio conversations of the players involved. *In 2017, allegations arose that the
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
amateur three-on-three basketball tournament was fixed for the
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n team, 'Project X', to win. According to the allegations published in ''
The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...
'', the other South Korean teams competing in the tournament colluded to make sure Project X beat out the foreign teams. The ''Times'' alleged this was possible because of the tournament's rules that added the team's points up to determine the winner instead of a traditional
elimination tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
. The opposing South Korean teams let Project X run up the score during their contests to game the overall outcome of the tournament, according to the ''Times''. Red Bull Korea denied having any part in the alleged scheme.


Boxing

*In 1890, a ''
San Francisco Call ''The San Francisco Call'' was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called ''The San Francisco Call & Post'', the ''San Francisco Call-Bulletin ...
'' correspondent accused boxer George Mulholland of taking a dive during a match against Wiley Evans in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
. *In September 1913,
heavyweight boxer Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
Arthur Pelkey, who was the reigning World White Heavyweight Champion, submitted a signed letter to Roscoe Fawcett, sports editor of ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'', which stated that he was involved in a fixed match on March 26, 1913, in
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada under the direction of his manager Tommy Burns (Canadian boxer), Tommy Burns. Pelkey further alleged that Burns made the heavyweight sign over fifty percent of his earnings when he was in police custody awaiting a determination by the coroner if he was responsible for the in-ring death of his opponent Luther McCarty on May 24, 1913. McCarty's death was eventually ruled unrelated to that match and Pelkey continued his boxing career with Burns as his manager. *On September 22, 1922, at the Vélodrome Buffalo and Stade Buffalo, Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris, France, the reigning World Light Heavyweight Championship, World Light Heavyweight Champion Georges Carpentier took on Battling Siki in what was supposed to be a fixed fight, according to Siki. During the fight, Carpentier went back on a previous arrangement to not hurt Siki, although it is debated by Smithsonian.com writer Gilbert King whether or not Carpentier was in on the fix or if it was arranged by someone from his Cornerman, corner without his knowledge. Siki then decided to fight Carpenter without letting up, but was eventually disqualified in a controversial decision by referee M. Henri Bernstein. Later the decision was reversed and Siki was crowned the World Light Heavyweight Champion. *On December 15, 1923, following a match between Frankie Schoell and Dave Shade, referee Dave Miller told reporters he was offered $500 to fix the match in favor of Schoell. *November 17, 1924: Boxers Fred Fulton and Tony Fuente were accused of fixing a fight in Los Angeles, California. The match lasted 35 seconds with Fuente throwing two punches. It was the last match fought under state rules that prohibited boxers from winning cash prizes. *In 1938, heavyweight boxer Al "Big Boy" Bray told the California State Athletic Commission that he was offered a $1,000 bribe to take a dive against Chuck Crowell, which took place at Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Bray said the bribe was offered by boxing promoter Suey Welch and Crowell's manager Baron Henry von Stumme. *On January 29, 1939, heavyweight boxer Harry Thomas confessed that he participated in two fixed matches. The first was on December 13, 1937, against Max Schmeling in which Thomas lost by technical knockout (TKO) in the eight round. The second fight took place on November 14, 1938, against Tony Galento in which Thomas was defeated by TKO in the third round. Thomas was paid $8,500 for fixing the Schmeling fight and $23,000 for fixing the Galento fight. *In 1947,
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
proceedings in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
revealed a plot to fix a match between Rocky Graziano and Ruben Shank that was scheduled for December 27, 1946. Graziano called the match off on Christmas Eve saying he had developed a "mild sacroiliac condition". *In 1949, the Michigan Boxing Commission investigated a fight between welterweights Kid Gavilán and Lester Felton, which resulted in a split 2–1 decision for Felton. Gavilán told commission he believed the referee helped Felton fix the match. *In 1954, it was reported by ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' that welterweight Boxer (boxing), boxer Vince Martinez was offered $20,000 to lose to Carmine Fiore in a televised match on October 29 at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. Martinez ended up winning the bout and was escorted to New Jersey for his safety by members of
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
Frank Hogan, Frank Hogan's staff in a prearranged deal for information on the people who tried to fix the match. *Also in 1954, heavyweight boxer Clarence Henry (boxer), Clarence Henry was arrested and charged with bribery for allegedly offering middleweight boxer Bobby Jones $15,000 to throw his fight against Joey Giardello on June 11 at Madison Square Garden. *In 1955, California Governor Goodwin J. Knight created an investigative committee to look into allegations of match fixing in boxing. The following year, the committee convened a hearing where it was revealed they had evidence that boxing promoter Babe McCoy had fixed seven fights dating back to 1950. *In December 1957, boxer Dick Goldstein told the National Boxing Association that Art Aragon had approached him before their upcoming match and offered him $500 to take a dive. Goldstein refused and Aragon called off the fight, telling the Texas Athletic Commission he was ill. Aragon was convicted of criminal conspiracy for his part in the scheme and was sentenced to one to five years in a California State Prison. *Both Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston fights in 1964 and 1965 were suspected of being fixed, but the allegations were never proven. *On June 26, 1976, the Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki match at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
resulted in a 15-round draw. Both sides agreed to the match under the assumption it would be a fixed exhibition. The two fighters could not agree on who would win the fight, so the match became genuine. *In 1986, the ''Aftenposten'' in Oslo, Norway reported that Norwegian heavyweight boxer Steffen Tangstad had fought Uruguayan boxer Alfredo Evangelista in a fixed match. Evangelista told ''Aftenposten'' that he agreed to lose the fight as long as he was not Knockout, knocked down and was paid $6,000 for his cooperation. *In 1993, ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' reported that several fights arranged by boxing promoter Rick "Elvis" Parker were fixed according to boxer Sonny Barch, who claimed he was approached by Parker and told to lose the fight against Randall "Tex" Cobb scheduled on September 15, 1993. Cobb knocked out Barch in the first-round. Barch also claimed to have knowledge of another fix which occurred on the same card as his fight between American football, football player turned boxer Mark Gastineau and Rick Hoard. In that match, Gastineau won by a technical knockout in the first round. Cobb denied the claims and sued ''Sports Illustrated'' for libel. He was awarded $10.7 million by a federal jury in 1999. The verdict was reversed on appeal on January 31, 2002. *In 2006, ''Japan Today'' circulated rumors that the Juan Landaeta vs. Koki Kameda fight was fixed, but pointed out there was no evidence to support the allegations. *In 2010, a match between cruiserweights Paul Briggs (boxer), Paul Briggs and Danny Green (boxer), Danny Green was declared fixed following an investigation by WA Professional Combat Sports Commission. Green was exonerated by the investigation, but Briggs, who was knocked out 29 seconds into the first round, was found to have purposefully taken a dive. The findings of the investigation were overturned in 2012 by three judges of the High Court of Australia. *At the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, a match result was overturned and the referee was expelled from the tournament after a very controversial decision which included a boxer winning the match despite having been knocked down five times in one round, in violation of amateur boxing regulations. Under AIBA rules, both the mandatory eight count and three knockdown rule are in effect. Eleven months earlier, BBC reported on a possible bribery attempt, which could be related. *During the 2016 Summer Olympics, ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' reported that several boxing judges and referees were dismissed by the International Boxing Association (amateur), International Boxing Association due to suspect decisions. *On December 31, 2018, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. faced rising kickboxer and mixed martial artist Tenshin Nasukawa in an exhibition boxing match for the Japanese promotion Rizin Fighting Federation's 2018 in Rizin Fighting Federation#Rizin 14 - Saitama, Rizin 14 event. After Mayweather easily dominated Nasukawa in under two and a half minutes, which saw Nasukawa "comically" stumbling around the ring after each knockdown and Mayweather even dancing in the middle of the ring, both fans and pundits began accusing the fight of being fixed - although no evidence was ever found.


Cricket

* In 1979, Somerset County Cricket Club, Somerset deliberately declared their innings in their Benson & Hedges Cup one-day match against Worcestershire County Cricket Club, Worcestershire closed after only one over was completed. This plan was not motivated by gambling, but was instead meant to manipulate tie-breaking rules for Somerset's benefit and assure qualification for the quarterfinals of the tournament. Although the plan was not against the letter of the rules, it was widely condemned by both media and cricket officials, and Somerset was expelled from that year's tournament in response. : * In 2000 the Delhi police intercepted a conversation between a blacklisted bookie and the South African cricket team, South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje in which they learnt that Cronje accepted money to throw matches. The South African government refused to allow any of its players to face the Indian investigation unit, which opened up a can of worms. A court of inquiry was set up and Cronje admitted to throwing matches. He was immediately banned from all cricket. He also named Saleem Malik (Pakistani cricket team, Pakistan), Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja (Indian cricket team, India). Jadeja was banned for 4 years. They too were banned from all cricket. As a kingpin, Cronje exposed the dark side of betting, however with his untimely death in 2002 most of his sources also have escaped law enforcement agencies. Two South African cricketers, Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje, are also wanted by the Delhi police for their role in the match fixing saga. A few years before in 1998, Australian cricket team, Australian players Mark Waugh and Shane Warne were fined for revealing information about the 'weather' to John the bookmaker controversy, a bookmaker. *The fourth Test cricket, Test of Pakistan national cricket team, Pakistan's Pakistani cricket team in England in 2010, summer 2010 cricket tour of England contained several incidents of spot fixing, involving members of the Pakistan team deliberately bowling no-balls at specific points to facilitate the potential defrauding of bookmakers. Three players were banned from cricket and sentenced to prison terms. * In Indian Premier League in 2013, S. Sreesanth and two other players were banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for alleged match fixing. Sreesanth's ban was briefly lifted, but the Kerala High Court upheld the ban in 2017. Sreesanth maintains his innocence and is appealing his ban. After the Supreme Court of India set aside Sreesanth's life ban in 2019 and asked the BCCI to revisit the length of the ban, the BCCI reduced Sreesanth's ban to seven years; the ban expired in September 2020. * In the 2012 Champions League T20 in South Africa, New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent was reported to have fixed matches for Auckland Aces in the qualifiers against English side Hampshire Cricket Club, and again in the main stage against reigning Indian champions Kolkata Knight Riders.


Darts

* In June 2018, Filipino darts player Gilbert Ulang was found by the Darts Regulation Authority to have deliberately lost to Kevin Simm (darts player), Kevin Simm in the preliminary round of the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship. Ulang was given a seven-year suspension from the sport. * In 2020, Northern Irish darts player Kyle McKinstry was suspended by the Darts Regulation Authority for alleged match fixing in matches against Wessel Nijman and David Evans (darts player), David Evans in the Modus A Night at the Darts event. Wessel Nijman was suspended for fixing a game against Evans in the same event. Nijman admitted to the offence; and McKinstry admitted to the offence against Evans but denied the offence against Nijman. McKinstry was found by the DRA to have fixed both matches. Nijman was suspended for five years, the latter two-and-a-half suspended; with McKinstry's punishment set to be decided at a later date by the DRA.


Esports

*In 2010, several professional StarCraft players were suspected of being involved in illegal match fixing, with two people arrested and about seven gamers investigated, with two renowned gamers, Ma Jae-Yoon and By. CrocuS were confirmed as working as a broker between the bettors and the gamers. * In June 2013, a ''Dota 2'' pro player Alexey "Solo" Berezin was caught match fixing during a match against ZRage in SLTV Star Ladder Season VI as RoX.Kis. The match had no bearing on their standings since both teams could no longer qualify for the LAN finals. Solo bet $100 against his team and proceed to intentionally throw the game and supposedly won $322 from it. As a result of being caught Solo received a lifetime ban from Starladder (later reduced to one year and was later removed from the team), a three-year ban for the other players, and one-year ban for the organization. * In October 2014, ''Dota 2'' pro players Kok Yi "ddz" Liong and Fua Hsien "Lance" Wan were both found guilty of match fixing during the match against CSW on Synergy SEA as Arrow Gaming as it has been found that both of their girlfriends have betted expensive quality items against their team where they proceed to intentionally throw the match. Arrow Gaming repeatedly tried to deny this but conclusive evidence eventually proves this fact and as a result, the teams have been removed from Synergy SEA and disqualified from other tournaments such as Summit 2. Both ddz and Lance were removed from the Arrow Gaming and the rest of the team disbanded one day later. * In January 2015, six ''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' players and a team owner were banned due to the IBuyPower and NetcodeGuides match fixing scandal. *In June 2021, six Valorant players for the team Resurgence were suspended for match fixing a match against Blackbird Ignis in September 2020.


Field hockey

*In 1996, the International Hockey Federation released a report concluding there was no evidence to prove a match between India men's national field hockey team, India and Malaysia men's national field hockey team, Malaysia in an Olympic qualifying match in January. Canadian Hockey Association president Judy McCrae was publicly skeptical of the report and affirmed her belief that the game was fixed. *In 2006, the Malaysia national field hockey team filed a complaint through the Olympic Council of Malaysia that Japan men's national field hockey team, Japan and Pakistan men's national field hockey team, Pakistan intentionally tied 0–0 during their match at the 2006 Asian Games.


Golf

*In December 1959, Sam Snead had legitimately lost to Mason Rudolph (golfer), Mason Rudolph on the NBC show World Championship Golf because of an error on Snead's part. At the 12th hole with the match all square, Snead had discovered that he was carrying 15 clubs in his bag in violation of Rule 3 with the 14 club limit. Under the Rules of Golf in effect at the time, a one hole penalty for each hole the 15th club was in the bag was assessed. Snead's legitimate penalty was a loss of 11 holes and lost the match, 11 and 7 when the violation was discovered. Instead of disclosing the violation, Snead continued to play, but purposefully missed Golf swing#Putt, putts to give Rudolph the victory. Snead said his decision to continue was because he knew the NBC show would be an hour short of the planned run time and he wanted to give the producers a usable broadcast that showed Rudolph the winner (which was, by rule, the actual result via disqualification), although viewers would not be informed of the violation that legitimately ended the match at the 12th, creating the illusion that Rudolph won a fair match when in actuality, Rudolph had won upon Snead's discovery of his own infraction. Current Rules of Golf call for a limit of two such penalties (unlike in 1959), meaning a loss of two holes in that situation. At the 2001 Open Championship, Ian Woosnam was given the two-stroke penalty for the excessive club found before he teed off the second hole. At the 2013 PGA Championship, Woody Austin was assessed the maximum four-stroke penalty for having 15 clubs at the third hole. With the current general penalty rule enforced at the 12th hole where the violation was discovered, Rudolph would be 2 up after the maximum penalty of a two-hole adjustment was assessed, with the match being allowed to continue at the 12th hole with the penalty automatically enforced as the match continued there. Snead would have had to make up a two-hole deficit with six holes remaining.


Handball

*In 2012, several French people, French handball players from the Montpellier Handball, Montpellier club were arrested on allegations they fixed matches. In June 2015, the French government pressed charges against the alleged Montpellier fixers who included Olympic medalist Nikola Karabatic, his brother Luka Karabatic and six others Montpellier players. Prosecutors alleged Montpellier, who had already sealed the French handball championship, purposefully lost to Cesson Rennes MHB, Cesson in May 2012. French authorities were tipped off to the alleged fix when discovering that over 100,000 euros in bets had been placed on the low-stakes game that prosecutors contend should have only garnered a few thousand euros in wagers. In July 2015, the 16 people indicted by French authorities for their part in the match fixing scandal—including the Karabatic brothers—were found guilty. Nikola Karabatic was fined 10,000 euros and the largest fine on 30,000 euros went to Mladen Bojinovic. None of the people were given jail sentences, despite the prosecutors request. The Karabatic brothers appealed the decision and in 2017, but lost and a new ruling made by the Disciplinary Committee of the French Handball Federation required Nikola Karabatic to sit out six games and Luka Karabatic to sit out two.


Motorsport

*In September 2009, Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. admitted to having intentionally wrecked his race-car during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix due to team orders. It gave an advantage to his teammate Fernando Alonso who went on to win the race. Following a lawsuit by the Renault F1, Renault Formula 1 team against the Piquet family, a judge ruled in Piquet's favor due to overwhelming evidence against the team; fining the Renault Formula 1 team millions, liquidating various employees, banning the team from Formula 1 for 2 years (on suspended sentence) and various key members of Renault Formula 1 team being banned for life (which was later appealed). : *In the NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series, the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 was scandalized by 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400#Race manipulation controversy, extensive manipulation of the race results by three teams—Michael Waltrip Racing, Penske Racing, and Front Row Motorsports—in an attempt to ensure that MWR and Penske drivers would earn places in the NASCAR playoffs, Chase for the Sprint Cup. When the manipulation was discovered, NASCAR imposed unprecedented penalties that knocked Martin Truex Jr., one of the intended beneficiaries, out of the Chase, and also gave Jeff Gordon, an unwitting victim of the manipulation, a 13th place in the normally 12-driver Chase. *In the NASCAR Cup Series, the 2019 Ford EcoBoost 400 was marred by race manipulation involving teams not having a Race Team Alliance charter, Premium Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing (with assistance from a chartered team in Spire Motorsports) in an attempt to ensure Premium would be the non-charter team with highest points in the team owner's standings. NASCAR penalized all teams involved in the scheme, handing the title of the highest placed non-charter team to Gaunt Brothers Racing.


Snooker

: *In 2009, snooker player Stephen Maguire acknowledged through his management company that police had questioned him about allegations of match-fixing at the UK Championship in Telford, England on December 15, 2008. *In 2010, allegations were made by the United Kingdom, British newspaper ''News of the World'' that snooker champion John Higgins had accepted a Pound sterling, £261,000 bribe from undercover reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine to throw frames. Higgins denied the bribery and match fixing allegations. During an investigation of the events, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) placed Higgins on suspension. Later that year, a WPBSA endorsed tribunal found Higgins guilty of accepting a bribe but found no evidence of match fixing. *In 2016, Ireland, Irish snooker player Leo Fernandez was banned from the sport for 15 months by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) for manipulating part of a match. While it was not a full manipulation of the match's outcome, Fernandez had contact with people that placed a prop bet which said he would choose to shoot the first foul shot of the game. Fernandez did opt to take the first foul shot, thus making the bet successful. The WPBSA ruled that was a violation of their corruption bylaws. *On 1 December 2018, Chinese people, Chinese snooker players Yu Delu and Cao Yupeng were banned from the sport following a lengthy investigation by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Yupeng admitted to fixing three matches and is eligible for reinstatement on 24 November 2020. Delu, who admitted to fixing five matches, revived a 10-year nine-month ban. He is eligible for reinstatement on 24 February 2029.


Sumo


Tennis

: *In 2007, France, French tennis player Arnaud Clément claimed he was offered a bribe to fix a match, which he turned down, but added, "I won't say where or under what circumstances". Clément feared divulging more details on the bribe would have negative consequences on his career. *In 2008, the Association of Tennis Professionals cleared Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko from allegations that he fixed a match against Martin Vassallo Arguello in Poland in 2007. In 2016, an investigation found that several millions of dollars were placed on the match from Russian-based accounts. Leaked files to the joint BuzzFeed and British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC investigators found 82 instances were Davydenko had sent or received text messages from the suspected head of an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
sports betting syndicate. * On 18 January 2016, a joint BuzzFeed, Research Enquirer and British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC investigation reported alleged widespread match-fixing, which involve Northern Italian, Sicilian, and Russian betting syndicates, which included suspicious betting at major tournaments such as The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon. The reporters examined betting incidents on a total of 26,000 matches. *In June 2018, Argentinian tennis player Nicolas Kicker was banned from the sport for at least three years for match-fixing. According to an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit, Kicker knowingly participated in at least two fixed matches in 2015. The ruling prohibits Kicker from competing in or attending a sanctioned tennis match. *In July 2018 Egyptian tennis player Karim Hossam received a lifetime ban for match fixing. *In September 2019 Brazilian tennis player Diego Matos received a lifetime ban for match fixing. *In May 2020 Egyptian tennis player Youssef Hossam received a lifetime ban for match fixing, as his brother Karim had two years prior.


Volleyball

*During the qualifying period for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, the Japan women's national volleyball team came under scrutiny for allegedly throwing a match against Serbia women's national volleyball team, Serbia in order to get a better Olympic seeding. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball cleared Japan in May 2012 and the team was allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. *In 2012, the Korea Volleyball Federation expelled four
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n volleyball players for life after its disciplinary panel found evidence they took part in fixing matches. A fifth player was suspected of being in on the fixes, but was not expelled due to limited evidence. Later that year evidence from South Korean prosecutors implicated 16 volleyball players involved in match-fixing schemes. *In 2016, Federation Internationale de Volleyball president Jizhong Wei released a statement following allegations by the Thailand women's national volleyball team, Thai women's national volleyball team that Japan women's national volleyball team, Japan had fixed an Summer Olympics, Olympic qualifying match. Wei said there was no evidence of match-fixing.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Match fixing incidents Match fixing, * Sport-related lists