Match fixing is a phenomenon which has occurred and is still occurring in many sports around the world. It is a common thing in sports to practice match fixing by unscrupulous people who are only concerned about their personal interests and who do not have any respect for the disciplines. Match fixing is common in many sports such as cricket, hockey and football.
There are two forms of match fixing. One of them is where the two clubs or teams actually fix the matches between themselves and the second one is when the matches are fixed by a third person (generally bookmakers or commonly referred as bookies). Some journalists and people who have given exclusive information claim that the underworld is mostly involved in these types of transactions. In both cases a lot of money is involved. It is unfortunate to see that the players in the clubs which are involved in this type of scam sell their respect for a huge sum of money. It is a pity to see that these players have no respect for their respective clubs, their fans who support them and also their respective countries. In the quest of gaining a lot of money, they have recourse to match fixing.
The role of the media has been quite effective in the sense that many cases of match fixing have been reported lately. Some of them are still being reported nowadays. Some recent examples are the fixing of cricket matches in Asia by Indian and Pakistan cricketers. There have also been some European Championship matches in football where it has been reported by journalists that matches are being fixed. Now we know where the future of popular sports such as cricket and football is going. We also know why teams are losing matches by huge margins! The shameful players don’t know that there are millions of fans who trust them and in return they get nothing. They don’t realize what a common man is, who is a diehard fan of sports such as cricket and football. It is also an insult to people around the world who is betting their hard earned money either for fun or to earn some money. In a certain sense, people around the world are being robbed of their money by people who are engaged in match fixing.
The easy targets for match fixers are poor people such as footballers and cricketers from smaller teams who are in need. These players who in many cases do not get enough considerations from their federations have no option but to accept the deal to make extra cash. However the lists of people who are and who may be involved include officials from officials who have a lot of experience to players and club managers to referees is endless. All of them are involved in one way or another in these types of scam. Hence when a small team loses a match, it is unlikely that there would be a lot of questioning and scrutiny about that particular match. But when a big team loses, the opposite is true.
Fortunately without the help of investigators, who are doing a very good job, it would have been very difficult to know of these types of scandals were ongoing. The investigators do an undercover job because it really is the only way of getting inside match fixing and it is really difficult to prove because in sports, there are many mistakes that occur and also there is a constant refusal that match fixing is happening even if it is happening.
The final word on match fixing? Much has been said and written about match fixing and will continue. But the reputation of the above mentioned sports is at stake and the unscrupulous actions of some people are bringing the game into disrepute. It is known that people outside the game are match fixers but ultimately the players are answerable to what is happening on the pitch. They should at all costs question their consciousness, that is whether they are doing the right thing or not. This cannot continue to happen and there has to be a stop to all this. According to me, some things that can be done is to impose more severe laws on the teams so that the players think twice before cheating and also to severely punish teams, players, officials etc. who are caught in these scams. They should be suspended or even banned from sports if the need be. Hence, it will be in the interest of the fans and people around the world but most importantly the beauty of the game will be preserved.
