5. 2013 English Match Fixing Scandal
While there are plenty of bad things to say about the British press they certainly did their good deed for the day when they brought down a match fixing ring. Both ‘The Sun on Sunday’ and ‘The Daily Telegraph’ orchestrated a sting operation, gathering recordings of professional footballers saying they could fix matches.
One footballer even claiming he had punched another player, twice, to get sent off. The men involved claimed to have affected several national and international matches. Luckily, for the sport these recordings were passed on to the police and many of those involved are now fixing their beds in prison.
4. No Honor Among Sumos
Sumo wrestling is something, if we’re honest, we like to mock here in the West. It’s hard not to when you see grown men, dressed as giant babies, slapping each other but at the same time we also accept there is certain amount of old-world honor in it as well. Unfortunately, the sport got a hefty serving of shame when in 2011 it was discovered up to 13 senior wrestlers had been involved in match fixing.
The scandal was so great the Japan Sumo Association’s Grand Tournament was canceled for the first time in 65 years. Now that’s something to cry about.
3. 2009 European Football Scandal
The one good thing about the European Football Scandal is that it made the English one look very minor in comparison. Covering over 200 matches in nine European countries it was called ‘the biggest match-fixing scandal ever to hit Europe.’ This led them to discover through wire taps, that various mafia types were rigging matches throughout Europe. Such cases were really prevalent in that league particularly. But if you were to visit MikeGLaw.com and pry for events like these from the criminal attorneys there, you cannot afford to be surprised if they had a similar tale to tell.
A series of raids in four countries netted 17 arrests, the implication of a half dozen football teams and Macedonian side FK Pobeda found to be so complicit they were banned from competing for eight years.
2. 1951 NCAA Point Shaving Scandal
If you not familiar with the term ‘point shaving’ this is where players in basketball attempt to influence the score negatively and/or lose the match. It’s usually used by cheaters to throw the occasional match but in 1951 it was taken to a whole new level.
An investigation led to 32 College basketball players being charged and found guilty of rigging 86 games in conjunction with the New York mob. The scandal covered four New York schools and was so bad the NCAA didn’t host matches in New York until 1981.
Still it wasn’t all bad, during their 30 year wait for college basketball to come back New York did become a mecca for illegal gambling. With mafia figures like John “Junior” Gotti rumoring to gamble as much as $50K per spin on roulette.
1. The 1919 ‘Black Sox’
In some respects our top scandal pretty much makes these lists redundant as it tops it every time. In the unlikely event you’ve never heard of it, during the 1919 baseball ‘World Series,’ a rather ironic name as only America plays in it, it was discovered that eight members of the Chicago White Sox had thrown the game.
An investigation showed that organized crime had invaded the game and massive bets were made against the White Sox. The aspect that makes it really scandalous though is that despite huge evidence against the players all were acquitted by juries, leading many to believe they had been ‘fixed’ too.
