12 Most Famous Match Fixing Scandals That Have Been Exposed

Sports and the match fixing have been going hand in hand for a long time. However, with the rise of betting syndicates all over the world, match fixing has become almost impossible to detect, prove, or ignore. Everybody knows that match fixing happens in almost all sports because match fixing has often been the only possible explanation for the certain result of the match.

Some of those match fixing campaigns have been going on for years before finally being revealed and the damaging that they have done to the professional world is incomprehensible. Whether it is Stephen Lee who fixed his snooker matches or Tim Donaghy who bet on the NBA games, match fixing is present in almost all sports. With that being said, in the following part we will be bring you the list of 12 biggest match fixing scandals from the world of professional sports that have been exposed.

1.Stephen Lee’s Snooker Match Fixing Scandal

https://youtu.be/l8dB-cihYX0

Year: 2008 and 2009
Country: Great Britain
Sport: Snooker
Punishment: Banned for 12 years and £40,000 fine
Return to Professional Sports: NO

Stephen Lee was one of the most talented snooker players that the world has ever seen. His talent did not remain only a talent as he managed to have a very successful career as a professional snooker player. However, in 2013, it was revealed that Stephen Lee has fixed seven matches during 2008 and 2009. Three of those matches were played in the Malta Cup in 2008, two matches were played in the UK Championship 2008, and one game was played in the China Open in 2009 and one in World Championship in 2009.

As a result of the investigation of his conduct, Stephen Lee has been banned from snooker for 12 years after it was proven that he has significantly influenced the outcome of the seven previously mentioned matches. Before those matches in 2008 and 2009, Stephen Lee has earned more than £2 million so the motives behind his actions remain unknown.

 

2.Hansie Cronje Scandal – The Fall of the Brightest Star

Year: 2000
Country: South Africa
Sport: Cricket
Punishment: Banned for Life
Return to Professional Sports: NO

Hansie Cronje had everything going for him at the turn of the century. He was one of the biggest cricket stars in South Africa and the fan favorite for a huge number of cricket fan in South Africa. However, everything came crumbling down in 2000 when it was revealed that Hansie Cronje has been involved in the match fixing scandal. In 2000, Delhi police released a recorded conversation between Cronje and a representative of a betting syndicate about the match fixing.

The released conversation also implicated several other cricket players but Cronje was the leading figure. Hansie Cronje continued to deny allegations against him but according to some reports he finally gave up in the trial when he confessed everything. After the end of the trial in 2000, Hansie Cronje was suspended for life from the sport and he died in 2002 in the plane crash. Since then, several conspiracy theories have appeared about his death as many facts about the plane crash have been clarified yet.

 

3.Match Fixing Scandal in Nigerian Football League

Year: 2013
Country: Nigeria
Sport: Football
Punishment: Lifetime Ban
Return to Professional Sports: NO

The scandal about the match fixing in the Nigerian Football League is one of the biggest and the most blatant example of match fixing in the history. In 2013, two teams from Nigeria, Plateau United Feeders and Police Machine were fighting for the promotion to the higher rank of Nigerian football. However, in order to achieve that they needed to boost their goal difference. Plateau United Feeders faced Akurba FC and the first half finished with the result 7-0 in favor of Plateau United and even then it was a very suspicious result. However, in the second half as Plateau United scored 72 goals it became obvious that the match was fixed.

In the second game, Police Machine faced Babayaro FC and similarly to the first game, the halftime finished 6-0 in favor of Police Machine. However, in the second half, Police Machine scored additional 61 goals which proved to be a clear sign of match fixing. In the end, the Nigeria Football Federation has issued a suspension for all four teams involved as well as for officials who were in charge during those two matches.

 

4.Nikolay Davidenko and Tennis Match Fixing Scandal

Year: 2013
Country: Russia
Sport: Tennis
Punishment: No punishment
Return to Professional Sports: NO

Nikolay Davidenko was one of the best tennis players in recent years. For many years, he was one of the top five players in the world. He had a very good professional career where he won many different tournaments, however, the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have prevented him from achieving the biggest success in tennis, winning a Grand Slam.

In 2013, Nikolay Davidenko played against Martin Vassallo Arguello and he managed to win the first set without any major problem. However, they would never play the rest of the match, as Davidenko retired from the match and he stated foot injury as the reason for forfeiting the match. However, not that long after the match, it was revealed that several individuals have profited a lot from Davidenko’s withdrawal which led many to conclude that Davidenko has thrown the match.

Immediately after that news was reported all bets on that match have been suspended and ATP launched a long investigation that would last more than a year. In 2014, Nikolay Davidenko announced his retirement from a professional career which ended the investigation against him and the match fixing.

 

5.Robert Hoyzer and Bundesliga Match Fixing

Year: 2005
Country: Germany
Sport: Football
Punishment: Two Years in Jail
Return to Professional Sports: NO

Robert Hoyzer was German football referee who was not known in public until 2005 when the huge scandal about his match fixing efforts was made public. At that time, Robert Hoyzer was a referee in the German Second Division but he also worked on matches in other competitions. In 2005, it was revealed that Hoyzer has earned more than €2 million from fixing matches and betting on them, including the match between Paderborn and Hamburg SV.

Robert Hoyzer used his authority as the referee to award suspicious penalties and send players off as a way of influencing the final outcome of the game. An official investigation has been launched after accusations became too loud and in the end, Robert Hoyzer was sentenced to two years in jail because of match fixing. Several other individuals have been involved in this match fixing scheme and they all have been banned from professional football for life.

 

6.Pakistani National Cricket Team Match Fixing Scandal

Year: 2010
Country: Pakistan
Sport: Cricket
Punishment: Jail Sentences and Lifelong Bans
Return to Professional Sports: NO

In 2010, the world of professional sport and especially cricket has been shaken by the revelations that Pakistani National Cricket Team has been involved in a match fixing efforts. In the story that was first reported by News of the World, it was revealed that three Pakistani players, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt have been involved with the bookmaker and betting syndicate agent Mazhar Majeed. According to the report, those players have been involved in the effort to fix the Test match between Pakistan and England in 2010.

In the end, all three players have been banned for life from cricket. However, that was not the only punishment for those players as all three of them have been sentenced to jail sentence as well. This was yet another blow to cricket as this was the time when several other match fixing affairs have been discovered.

 

7.Olympique Marseille Match Fixing Scandal

Year: 1993
Country: France
Sport: Football
Punishment: Relegation and Ban
Return to Professional Sports: YES

In 1993, Olympique Marseille was the hottest news in the world of sports as they managed to defeat AC Milan in the 1993 UEFA Champions League Finals. Before the Champions League title, Olympique Marseille has won their fourth consecutive title in the French national league as well as the title in the French Cup and Bernard Tapie, the owner of the team, was on a good path of creating a dynasty in French football. However, all that changed in a matter of hours.

After winning the Champions League, Olympique Marseille was supposed to play the game against Valenciennes in the Ligue 1, a game in which Marseille was a huge favorite. However, Tapie and other Marseille officials approached several Valenciennes’ players in order to convince them to throw the match in order for Marseille’s players not to get injured. It did not take a long time for this affair to be revealed and as a result, Olympique Marseille was relegated to the Second Division while Tapie was banned from football.

 

8.Tim Donaghy Betting on NBA Games

Year: 2007
Country: The United States
Sport: Basketball
Punishment: 15 months in prison and three years’ probation
Return to Professional Sports: NO

Tim Donaghy became the synonym for the influence of organized crime on the professional sport. Donaghy was a basketball referee who officiated NBA games for several years. However, in 2007, it was revealed that Tim Donaghy has been betting huge sums of money on the game that he has been officiating which provided him with the direct line of influence on the outcome of those games.

The investigation revealed that games that Donaghy officiated featured higher scores in comparison to other games officiated by some other referees. Besides that, the investigation also revealed a period of ten consecutive games that had very suspicious bets placed on them and later the investigation made the connection between those games and Tim Donaghy. Donaghy was sentenced 15 months in prison that he served and he was also sentenced three years of supervised probation that he also served. Besides that, the National Basketball Association has also issued Donaghy with the lifelong ban on officiating any basketball games in the country.

 

9.Calciopoli Scandal in Italy

Year: 2006
Country: Italy
Sport: Football
Punishment: Relegation and Bans
Return to Professional Sports: YES

In 2006, Italian football was shaken to its core as it was revealed that several teams from Serie A have been involved in the match fixing scandal during the previous two seasons. Among those teams were Juventus, Lazio, Milan, and Fiorentina. However, the biggest accusations were raised against Italy’s biggest and the most successful and prominent team, Juventus. According to the reports, those teams influence the selection of officials for their games from which they eventually benefited in the game.

Juventus suffered the biggest punishment as they were relegated to the Serie B as well as points reduction for the next season. Other teams involved in this scandal managed to avoid relegation but they were punished with a huge point deduction in Serie A for the next season. Besides that, two titles that Juventus won during those seasons were taken away from them but Juventus managed to return to their former glory. Several officials from each team have been given a ban from football and this scandal has become an everlasting shadow looming over football in Italy.

 

10.West Germany vs. Austria Match Fixing Scandal

Year: 1982
Country: Spain
Sport: Football
Punishment: NO
Return to Professional Sports: YES

Match fixing scandals are not only reserved for lower ranks of football competition as it was witnessed by the game between West Germany and Austria at the 1982 World Cup. The match between West Germany and Austria was the final group stage fixture and it was a deciding match on who would advance to the next stage of the competition.

In previous fixtures, Germany lost to Algeria and they had to win against Austria to advance. On the other hand, Algeria has won their game against Chile as well and they knew that if Germany wins their last game 1-0, they would be eliminated from the competition and Austria would advance. The game between West Germany and Austria started very good for Germans as they scored very quickly.

After that, both teams almost stopped playing as the result was not important for either team anymore. With that result, both West Germany and Austria would advance and Algeria would be eliminated. In the end, the game finished 1-0 and Austria eliminated Algeria from the World Cup in a game that became a clear example of match fixing. However, no actions against either West German or Austria were taken despite official protest from the Algerian Football Association.

 

11.Black Sox Scandal

Year: 1919
Country: The United States
Sport: Baseball
Punishment: Lifelong Bans
Return to Professional Sports: NO

One of the biggest cases of match fixing in sports history happened in 1919 when it was revealed that Chicago White Sox have lost the final match of the 1919 World Series intentionally. At that time, it was not secret that White Sox players were underpaid and that was an easy way in for James ‘Sporty’ Sullivan who paid eight White Sox players to throw the match. Even before the series come to an end, it became obvious that something shady is going on.

In the end, Cincinnati won the 1919 World Series nine-game series in eight games which meant that White Sox have fulfilled their end of the bargain. A year later, a grand jury was called on, and Joe Jackson and Eddie Cicotte, two crucial players for that match fixing, admitted their involvement in the scandal. As a result, all eight players from White Sox team were banned for life from being involved in baseball in any official capacity but they managed to avoid a jail sentence.

 

12.Nelson Piquet Jr. and Formula 1 Scandal

Year: 2008
Country: Singapore
Sport: Formula 1
Punishment: Team banned from Formula 1 for 1 years and lifelong bans
Return to Professional Sports: YES

One of the biggest fixing scandals in the history of Formula 1 happened in 2008 during the Singapore Grand Prix. In 2009, one of the Renault Formula 1 team drivers from that time, Nelson Piquet Jr., spoke publicly about the team’s officials ordering him to crash his car intentionally in order to give an advantage to Fernando Alonso who was fighting at that time for the first place in the race.

Piquet Jr. admitted to crashing his car intentionally which led to the lawsuit that Renault Formula 1 team started against Nelson Piquet Jr. and his family. In the end, a judge ruled in Piquet’s favor as the evidence of fixing was more than evident. In the end, Renault Formula 1 team was banned from the competition for 2 years and several teams’ officials were banned for life but their punishments were appealed later.