Over 10 footballers under probe for match-rigging scam

By Lee Hyo-sik

The prosecution is expanding its investigation into a football match-fixing scam in which nearly a dozen professional football players were allegedly bribed by brokers to manipulate game outcomes for the winning of sports bets.

The Changwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday that the number of professional footballers suspected of being involved in the scam has increased to over 10 from two unidentified teams.

Prosecutors said they have completed questioning Kim Dong-hyun, a 27-year-old player for the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, about whether he attempted to fix match results in return for money.

On May 21, prosecutors arrested a broker, identified only by his last name Kim, and a former football player, also surnamed Kim, on charges of bribing a midfielder of a professional football team and a goalkeeper of another team to have them fix match outcomes so that they could win bets operated by Sports Toto.

The two players were apprehended Wednesday on charges of attempting to fix match results.

The midfielder received 100 million won ($90,000) and the goalie 120 million won, the prosecution said. It sought arrest warrants for the two. “In addition to the two players, we have found evidence indicating that at least eight other players have been involved in the match-fixing scam. We questioned Kim Dong-hyun Wednesday over his possible involvement. We also plan to bring in other footballers in the near future,” a prosecution official said.

Prosecutors believe the brokers attempted to reap illegal gains by betting money on games that the bribed athletes played in through bookmakers operated by Sports Toto, the only sports lottery agency licensed by the government, as well as ones managed by illicit operators. The authorities estimate more than 3,500 illegal lotteries are in operation.

The official said investigators are questioning the two players already in custody about whether they shared the money offered by the brokers with other footballers.

According to the prosecution, the corrupt goalkeeper intentionally allowed 11 goals to be scored against him in four matches in a domestic cup competition. His football team lost 11 matches out of 12 when the goalie played.

The bribed midfielder played in one match during the ongoing 2011 K-League season, in which his team lost.

The scandal comes as multiple rumors have long circulated that footballers and other professional athletes here colluded with brokers to rake in illegal gains through sports betting by fixing matches.

It is the first time that such a large-scale scam has come to light, sending shock waves through the local professional sporting community.