Police to crack down on match fixing at Australian Open
|
| Posted
:
Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:50:04 GMT |
| By
:
IANS |
| Category
:
Sports |
| News Alerts by
Email ( click
here ) |
|
|
|
|
|
Melbourne, Dec 21 - Following recent complaints of match-fixing in international tennis, Tennis Australia has set up a task force to monitor Australian Open matches next month. Access to players will be restricted in an unprecedented crackdown, Australian media reports said.The task force to fight corruption will team with detectives and betting agencies to detect suspicious gambling patterns and tainted players.Match riggers face up to 15 years in jail and cheating players and support staff will be slapped with life bans under extraordinary measures announced Friday to protect the Grand Slam tournament.The Tennis Australia Anti-Corruption Commission will oversee extra security to restrict access to players; a confidential hotline for those involved in the tournament; a block on gambling websites on publicly accessible computers at the Open; banning unauthorised use of laptops courtside; an education and awareness programme to run before and during the event; a special squad of detectives to spearhead investigations into match-fixing allegations.Alleged offenders will face police action and/or special anti-corruption commission hearings.The nation's biggest sports betting agency, TAB Sportsbet, welcomed the move, which follows international concerns that match fixing has infiltrated the sport.The men's game has been rocked by a series of allegations in recent months, with several top players saying they had been offered bribes to throw matches. They all said they had rebuffed the offers.Criminal gambling syndicates have also tried to rig women's matches, with gang members approaching players to throw matches or give inside information.Tennis Australia chief Steve Wood said authorities were determined to maintain the tournament's integrity with a tough stance.'We don't believe our sport has a corruption problem but we do recognise that a threat to the integrity of tennis exists,' Wood said.TAB Sportsbet spokesman Gary Davies supported the bid to stifle illegal gambling.'We want punters to be confident of what they are betting on,' Davies said. (c) Indo-Asian News Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Rosberg joins Mercedes, Brawn rules out Schumacher - Summary
Stuttgart - Nico Rosberg is to join the new Mercedes GP team from next season, it was confirmed Monday. Rosberg, who leaves Williams after four years, will be the first German since Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann in 1955 to drive a works Mercedes silv...
Bosnia's FA officials jailed for financial violations
Sarajevo - A Bosnian court Monday sentenced the country's Football Association secretary-general Munib Usanovic and finance secretary Miodrag Kures to five years in prison each for financial violations, local media reported. The officials were found ...
FIFA names cities for World Cup fan fests
Johannesburg - Nine South African cities and seven cities over five continents will be host FIFA's official public viewing events for the 2010 World Cup. All nine South African host cities as well as Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro...
UEFA to hold talks with federations in match-fixing probe - Summary
Hamburg - European football union UEFA is to hold talks this week with nine national federations affected by a match-fixing investigation. The federations have been called to UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland for the talks on Wednesday. ...
Extreme-race organizer on trial for Zugspitze deaths
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - The organizer of a 2008 extreme mountain race event denied in court on Monday that he was responsible for the deads of two participating runners. Peter Krinninger is charged with two cases of death caused by negligen...
Del Bosque poised to extend his Spain contract
Madrid - Vicente del Bosque is poised to extend his contract as national manager of Spain, according to Spanish media reports on Monday. Del Bosque's contract is due to expire straight after the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, but the Spanish ...
Balotelli expects fair treatment from Barcelona crowd - Feature
Rome - Mario Balotelli can look to playing a relaxed away game when Inter Milan tackle European champions Barcelona Tuesday in a high-class Champions League match. Often since his debut in the Serie A at age 17, the towering, talented, but at times i...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
