China at epicentre of global soccer match-fixing, say experts
Soccer is called the 'beautiful game' but the ugly truth is that it is bent, not only in Asia but the world over. And, experts say, the mainland is to blame
Match-fixing is seen as the biggest problem facing the sport with recent scandals hitting Italian, Turkish and English domestic soccer as well as the national teams of Guatemala, Nicaragua and South Africa.
Illegal-gambling syndicates with their willing go-betweens find journeymen players paid low wages are tempted to take a back-hander to throw a game or get a red card.
And it seems much of that temptation is coming from China.
In a an interview with the South China Morning Post, Chris Eaton, director of Sport Integrity at the International Centre for Sport and Security, said: "It is the massive illegal sports-betting market in China, by far the biggest in the world, that directly and indirectly finances the majority of the world's betting fraud related [to] match-fixing.
"In short, China is today a major part of the problem. With change, China can be a major part of the solution."