By Andrew Warshaw
January 8 – Football’s crackdown on match-fixing has now spread to Hong Kong where authorities also plan to introduce tougher measures to check the financial background of club directors ahead of the new domestic Premier League in September.
Nine people have been arrested over alleged rigging, according to Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Six of them are players from one club, first division Happy Valley, and also include an executive officer at the club and a representative of its sponsor. Two of the players are reported to be from Croatia and Bosnia.
“Enquiries revealed that the sponsor’s representative and the executive officer might have offered advantages to the players of the football club as rewards for their participation in rigging football match results,” the ICAC said in a statement.
Hong Kong has a low-profile football scene, with poorly-paid players and each top division game often attracting less than 1,000 spectators, exactly the kind of scenario so attractive to the criminal organisations behind the south-east Asia-based scams.
Last month, another first division club Tuen Mun was embroiled in controversy after one of its defenders headed into his own net to allow opponents Yokohama Football Club to win 2-1 in stoppage time.
The latest probe came straight after Happy Valley, six-time Hong Kong champions, were beaten 5-0 by Sunray Cave Sun Hei. The ICAC said it was determined to ensure matches remained clean, and encouraged the public to report suspected bribery involving match-rigging activities.
In a statement, Hong Kong’s Football Association commended the ICAC’s efforts and said it would adopt a “zero-tolerance approach to anyone convicted of a crime related to football activity.”
“We will not let a minority of evil people spoil the good work we are doing on behalf of the majority of honest, decent, football-loving people,” said chief executive Mark Sutcliffe (pictured). “While it is disappointing that the finger of suspicion is being pointed at a club playing in the HKFA league, we fully support this [ICAC] investigation.”
Ironically, the latest scandal co-incided with an ongoing HK$60 million initiative named Project Phoenix aimed at revamping the sport. So far just 15 of 33 proposals have been delivered.
It also co-incided with moves to scrutinise club backers in the future.
“In the new Premier League, we will be asking the clubs for clarity in terms of governance arrangements and financial transparency,” said Sutcliffe. “We would want to know more about the clubs on where the money is coming from and where the money is going to.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734798018labto1734798018ofdlr1734798018owedi1734798018sni@w1734798018ahsra1734798018w.wer1734798018dna1734798018
