Latest news with #matchfixing
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Disgraced Chinese snooker star Yan Bingtao criticised for advice to world champion Zhao
The disgraced Chinese snooker player Yan Bingtao has attracted criticism after offering advice to new world champion Zhao Xintong. Advertisement Having kept a low profile since being banned for five years in 2023 for match-fixing, Yan on Wednesday posted a clip on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. The 25-year-old made no mention of his downfall or his future plans, but warned Zhao – who this month became the first from China to win the world title – of some potential pitfalls of his position. Having served his own 20-month ban, a remorseful Zhao resumed his career outside the professional ranks last September before sweeping to a stunning global triumph in Sheffield. Zhao Xintong has been showered with attention since winning the world title. Photo: AFP 'I believe he will reach new heights in the future, but what he should do now is to balance well,' Yan said in his eight-minute video. 'Zhao is now at the pinnacle of his career and there will be a lot of commercial activities.
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Revealed: English women's cricket becomes match-fixing target
There are growing fears that English women's cricket is becoming a soft target for corruption, with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of bets placed on matches. Corruption in men's cricket has been a longstanding issue for the sport, with numerous high-profile examples coming to light. A Telegraph Sport investigation can reveal a crackdown taking place in the women's game after uncovering: A total of £300,000 bet on one domestic match Players approached for team information via social media Anti-corruption officials sent to matches as part of crackdown Players forced to hand in mobile phones to officials during games Minimal security at venues during matches Akhter case highlights threat to women's game The men's game has been embroiled in plenty of infamous match-fixing scandals from the Hansie Cronje affair to three Pakistan players being banned and jailed for spot-fixing against England in 2010. It was only in February of this year, however, that the first female player was banned for corruption by the International Cricket Council. Former Bangladesh international Shohely Akhter, who played two ODIs and 13 T20Is, was found guilty of attempting to fix matches, offering a bribe, failing to disclose full details of an approach to the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code and obstructing the organisation's investigation. In one instance, she even tried to convince a fellow player to get out hit wicket in a match against Australia during the 2023 T20 World Cup, promising to pay 2 million Bangladeshi Takas (£12,000) for the fix. Akhter formally admitted breaching five provisions of the anti-corruption code and was banned from all cricket for five years. Players at lower levels of the women's game have been asked to report approaches made to them and Telegraph Sport understands that there have been some made via anonymous accounts on social media by those looking for team information about a particular match. There is also evidence of high sums being bet on domestic women's matches. As part of a wider restructure of the domestic women's game, the T20 County Cup has been launched as a FA Cup-style knockout including all minor counties as well as the 18 first-class ones across tiers one, two and three. A number of games have been taking place at grounds rarely used for first-class cricket like Exmouth, Brecon and Fenner's. These venues come with far less security, facilities and monitoring of those in attendance. Just a few days ago, the quarter-final match between Kent, a tier-two county side, and the Blaze, who represent Nottinghamshire, had a total of more than £296,000 placed on it via the Betfair exchange, which is just one betting platform. The match was also viewed by more than 77,000 people on YouTube. At the same point on the same day, the total bet across all nine men's county fixtures totalled just £8,535 on that website. In the women's domestic game, there is no suggestion, at present, that any matches have been fixed. But one of the initial concerns was caused by the number of wides being bowled, especially in tier-two competition. Across the first 60 matches of the domestic women's season, there were 1,888, at an average of 31.46 a match. There were 15 matches with 40 or more wides. In one innings, a side conceded 72 extras of which 61 were wides, while the other team conceded 26 extras, making the match total 98. However, as a non-professional league where the players receive no compensation for playing cricket, the standards can often vary, which could be the cause of the high numbers of extras. Anti-corruption officers are now expected to look for patterns when it comes to extras as it is not a market often offered by legal betting companies. Some women's streams on YouTube can draw thousands of viewers, with the majority of remarks in the comments section referencing what people need for bets to come in and how much they have placed, rather than the action. During one Women's One-Day Cup match, viewers in the comments openly posted about their bets in Hindi and, of the 2,000 who watched the stream, the majority are believed to be based overseas. There was even one comment referencing a Raja Bets website, which is not licensed for operations in the UK. Some users have posted their bets on social media with links to websites of which almost all finish in '.in', the country code for India. Anti-corruption officials focused on games further down pyramid In light of examples like these, the England and Wales Cricket Board has been sending anti-corruption officers to women's matches with a particular focus on those further down the pyramid in the T20 County Cup and in tier two. By the midway point of the first innings of one such match, a total of almost £20,000 had been bet on the Betfair exchange. While it is not an exceptional amount compared to the millions that are sometimes bet on overseas T20 franchise tournaments, it is a considerable sum given the crowd in attendance was fewer than 50 people. Another game in the same competition was also brought to the attention of the ECB's anti-corruption officials for the sums bet on it. It is understood that the ECB is looking to increase education programmes attended by all players at the start of the season. Extra measures have been put in place, too. Players have to hand in their phones at the start of the match, a practice that has long existed in international cricket and televised men's county games, with only a select few in the dressing room, including media officers and medical staff, allowed their devices. But that is not yet uniform across the women's county set-up. For some tier-two matches players are allowed to keep their phones, but not in games that are part of double-headers alongside the men's team or any matches against a tier-one side. Although some counties apply designated players and match official areas, which unaccredited people cannot access, it is not a uniform rule across the divisions. At the smaller grounds, Telegraph Sport discovered first-hand it can be far too easy for those without accreditation to wander into areas which should be reserved for umpires and players without being stopped by any security. Some matches have also had free entry, with no one checking tickets or any monitoring of who is watching the match. 'Courtsiding' becoming big concern In cricket, because of the nature of the game, there is almost no limit to the number of bets that can be placed on a particular match. The markets go far beyond simply who will score the most runs, take the most wickets or which side will win. It can go as detailed as specific scores by players, economy rates of bowlers, what score a team will have at a particular point in the game or even whether both teams hit a boundary in their first over. The case involving Pakistan, from the Lord's Test in 2010, related to the deliberate bowling of no balls. But the bigger concern is the relaying of data from the ground overseas to tell someone what is going to happen prior to the betting market being closed known as 'courtsiding'. This relies on speed, but the delay of betting markets being closed can take longer than someone passing on a message to another individual. Betting sites are often banned for those in the ground to try to prevent that, but that does not necessarily stop it. Anti-corruption officials are keen to make the point that their presence does not imply players are doing anything improper. 'The presence of an anti-corruption official is not indicative of the players doing something wrong,' Steve Richardson, who was investigations coordinator for the ICC's anti-corruption unit for seven years until 2023, said. 'It's indicative of the level of risk that the ECB perceives the women's game to be at, and the women's game is now more professional than it's ever been. With that comes betting markets and with that comes a risk of corruption.'
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Europa League final referee named as official in match-fixing scandal
Felix Zwayer has been chosen as the referee for the Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham, with some fans sure to recognise the official's name. Zwayer, who will officiate the all-English clash in Bilbao on 21 May, was handed a six-month ban in 2005 for his part in a match-fixing scandal. The German, 43, received the ban from his nation's football federation after working as an assistant referee to Robert Hoyzer, who was found to have taken bribes to fix several 2. Bundesliga matches that he officiated. Zwayer allegedly accepted a €300 bribe ahead of a game involving Wuppertaler SV, and he later informed the German FA of Hoyzer's match fixing – with three other referees accompanying Zwayer. Zwayer's ban was kept secret until German publication Die Zeit released 'The Zwayer File' in 2014. Meanwhile, Hoyzer was banned for life. In 2021, Jude Bellingham took issue with Zwayer's officiating in a Bundesliga match between rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, saying: 'You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?' Bellingham, who played for Dortmund at the time, was fined €40,000 for his comments. Zwayer subsequently took a break from refereeing, though he was back in the spotlight at Euro 2024. There, he refereed England's semi-final against Netherlands, another game in which Bellingham played. Uefa said in a statement on Monday (12 May): 'An international referee since 2012, the 43-year-old has this season taken charge of seven Uefa Champions League matches, including the semi-final decider between Paris and Arsenal, plus two in the Uefa Europa League and one in the Uefa Conference League. 'This will be his second Uefa competition final as a referee, with Zwayer having previously been in charge of the 2023 Uefa Nations League final between Croatia and Spain. He was also the lead official in four matches at Uefa Euro 2024.' Zwayer's assistants in the Europa League final will be compatriots Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz, while the fourth official has been named as Italy's Maurizio Mariani.
The Sun
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Disgraced snooker star Mark King LOSES appeal as five-year ban and huge fine for match-fixing is confirmed
SNOOKER star Mark King has lost his appeal against his five-year ban for match fixing. King was handed the ban in November 2024 and handed a £70,000 fine. 1 The former Northern Ireland Open champ was found guilty of "one count of match fixing and one count of providing inside information on that match." He appealed the decision but the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association [WPBSA] have turned it down. A WPBSA statement read: "On 7th November 2024 the Independent Disciplinary Committee delivered its final decision in the case of the WPBSA and Mark King. "He was found guilty of one count of match fixing and one count of providing inside information on his match played against Joe Perry on 13th February 2023. He was suspended from the sport for 5 years and ordered to pay £68,299.50 in costs. "Mark King appealed the decision of the Independent Disciplinary Committee and on 8th April 2025 his appeal was heard by an Independent Appeals Committee Chaired by Philip Evans KC. "On 13th May 2025 the Independent Appeals Committee issued its decision on the Appeal. Mr King's Appeal has been refused and the findings against Mr King regarding his match with Joe Perry and in relation to the sanction that was imposed at the original Hearing will stand. "A decision regarding the costs of the Appeal will be made in due course." King, 36, was initially suspended by the WPBSA in March 2023, a month after his match against Perry. Suspicious betting had been reported, with an investigation carried out alongside the WPBSA's bet monitoring partner Sportradar and the Sports Betting Intelligence United at the Gambling Commission. King was then charged with "fixing the outcome of the Perry match", as well as his December 2022 game against John Higgins. He was also charged with "providing inside information on those matches that was used for betting."
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Felix Zwayer: Europa League final referee named as official in match-fixing scandal
Felix Zwayer has been chosen as the referee for this month's Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham, with some fans sure to recognise the official's name. Zwayer, who will officiate the all-English clash in Bilbao on 21 May, was handed a six-month ban in 2005 for his part in a match-fixing scandal. The German, 43, received the ban from his nation's football federation after working as an assistant referee to Robert Hoyzer, who was found to have taken bribes to fix several 2. Bundesliga matches that he officiated. Zwayer allegedly accepted a €300 bribe ahead of a game involving Wuppertaler SV, and he later informed the German FA of Hoyzer's match fixing – with three other referees accompanying Zwayer. Zwayer's ban was kept secret until German publication Die Zeit released 'The Zwayer File' in 2014. Meanwhile, Hoyzer was banned for life. In 2021, Jude Bellingham took issue with Zwayer's officiating in a Bundesliga match between rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, saying: 'You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?' Bellingham, who played for Dortmund at the time, was fined €40,000 for his comments. Zwayer subsequently took a break from refereeing, though he was back in the spotlight at Euro 2024. There, he refereed England's semi-final against Netherlands, another game in which Bellingham played. Uefa said in a statement on Monday (12 May): 'An international referee since 2012, the 43-year-old has this season taken charge of seven Uefa Champions League matches, including the semi-final decider between Paris and Arsenal, plus two in the Uefa Europa League and one in the Uefa Conference League. 'This will be his second Uefa competition final as a referee, with Zwayer having previously been in charge of the 2023 Uefa Nations League final between Croatia and Spain. He was also the lead official in four matches at Uefa Euro 2024.'
