25 of the Biggest Sports Game-Fixing Scandals
All sports showcase athletes at the top of their game, and the drama and entertainment involved ensure a huge fanbase worldwide. We all want to see the best in the business fighting for the right to win trophies and rise the rankings.
We assume the game is fair in following our favorite sports, but that isn’t always the case. Many instances of infamous match-fixing have taken place, and it’s not just a recent phenomenon.
1. 1994: Arizona State Basketball Point Shaving
The Bad Sport documentary series highlights several match-fixing scandals, and this is one of the most interesting. In the 1990s, Arizona State University’s basketball team took part in a substantial point-shaving scandal. Point shaving involves fixing a game so one side wins by a specified number of points, leading to big wins at the bookmakers. At the storm’s center was ASU Point Guard Stevin “Hedake” Smith, who accepted an approach when he got into debt. Smith should have enjoyed a successful NBA career but drifted into obscurity.
2. 1919: Chicago Black Sox Scandal
Baseball’s most significant match-fixing incident led to wider repercussions in the game. In the 1919 World Series, eight Chicago Black Sox team members stood accused of throwing matches as the Cincinnati Reds emerged with the pennant.
Those eight players were banned from the sport, while the incident also saw the end of the National Baseball Commission. The Black Sox player with the highest profile was “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and the scandal led to the memorable quote, “Say it ain’t so, Joe,” from Chicago Daily News Reporter Charley Owens.
3. 1978 FIFA World Cup: Argentina vs Peru
Conjecture over this game has existed since the final whistle blew. In the 1978 Soccer World Cup’s latter stages, host nation Argentina needed to beat Peru by four clear goals to progress to the knockout stage. Argentina won 6-0, and speculation emerged over whether the Peruvians had thrown the tie. Thirty-four years later, in 2012, Peruvian Senator Genaro Ledesma confirmed that the result had been agreed in advance by the dictatorships of the two countries.
4. 2023: Chinese Snooker Bans
Snooker has endured occasional issues with match-fixing, but a blanket ban on ten players shocked the sport in 2023. Included in the ring were title winners Yan Bingtao and Zhao Xintong. Aside from manipulating games, players were found guilty of betting infringements and approaching other players to cheat. In June 2023, the Chinese governing body handed out stiffer punishments to some of those involved.
5. 2012: Stephen Lee’s Snooker Ban
Former Scottish Open winner Stephen Lee had been suspected of match-fixing since 2010, following unusual betting patterns on a game at the 2009 UK Championship. Several cases were eventually proved, and the player received charges in 2013. Lee subsequently received a 12-year ban from Snooker, which was backdated to 2012.
6. 2010: Spiked Water Bottles and a Fixed Soccer Match
Cremonese goalkeeper Marco Paolini took extreme measures to fix a soccer match in 2010. Paolini had accrued gambling debts and agreed to throw a game against Paganese to pay them off. Cremonese players complained of tiredness during the match, and one crashed his car on the homeward journey. An investigation proved that Paolini had spiked his teammates’ water bottles, making them feel lethargic.
7. 1990s Cricket: Hansie Cronje Match Fixing Scandal
Cricket’s most notorious match-fixing affair centered around famous South African captain Hansie Cronje. In the 1990s, Cronje and some teammates accepted bribes to underperform in games. The scandal developed in 2000 in the fifth test match at Centurion. Heavy rain meant the game was destined for a draw before Cronje contrived a result by declaring and setting England a revised target. It was all a part of a significant betting scam. Hansie Cronje’s career ended in disgrace.
8. 2012: The Great Handball Scandal
Handball is a popular sport across mainland Europe, and it’s been relatively clean throughout its history. One notable exception is the 2012 scandal involving players from the French club Montpelier. Sixteen individuals were found guilty and suspended for fixing a game against Cesson in May 2012.
9. 2005: German Soccer Referee Takes a Bribe
German referee Robert Hoyzer admitted to fixing four matches in 2005. He acted on the orders of Croatian gambler Ante Sapina and awarded controversial penalties and red cards to ensure the matches went his way. Hoyzer received 67,000 Euros from Sapina and a TV, among reports that he fixed around 23 games.
10. 2012: Olympic Boxing Scandal
Rumor and conjecture surround a fight at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Amid claims that Azerbaijan had been promised medals in the ring, Magomed Abdulhamidov secured a win against Satoshi Shimizu of Japan. The issue was that Abdulhamidov went down five times. Under the rules, Shimizu should have won the contest, but the referee merely asked the Azerbaijan fighter to stand up.
11. 2018: Kicker Kicked Out
While there is suspicion within tennis, only some fixing cases are known. One notable exception involved the Argentine player Nicolas Kicker. A 2018 investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit found that Kicker had taken part in at least two fixed matches in 2015. He was banned for three years, although the TIU later reduced the period.
12. 1982 FIFA World Cup: West Germany vs. Austria
Soccer’s showpiece tournament saw a match-fixing scandal for the second consecutive edition. In 1982, near-neighbors Austria and West Germany played their final group game in Spain. Austria had already qualified for the next phase, while the Germans needed a win to progress at the expense of Algeria. West Germany scored early through Horst Hrubesch, and the game virtually stopped. With neither side willing to attack, the match finished 1-0, and both countries went to the next round.
13. 2010-2011 Cricket: Pakistan Spot Fixing
Instead of fixing the entire game, Pakistan cricket team members who toured England in 2010 fixed specific stages in a match. Bettors could speculate what would happen on the next delivery, and certain bowlers would serve up a no-ball. Suspicion grew when one of those deliveries was so blatant it couldn’t have been an accident. Three players received bans after another bleak day in the sport’s history.
14. 1990s: Floodlight Football Failure
The lights went out on English soccer three times in the 1990s, and an Asian betting syndicate was behind the power outage. The first incident occurred in 1997 when a game between West Ham United and Charlton Athletic plunged into darkness. The lights went out again when Wimbledon hosted Arsenal, but the plan failed due to a tip-off when the syndicate aimed for a hat trick.
15. 2008: Badminton Uncovered
Badminton is another sport where many match-fixing allegations outweigh the number of proven cases. One incident that is beyond reasonable doubt came at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Four years later, in 2008, Chinese Coach Li Yongbo admitted to fixing a match at the tournament.
16. 2010: Togo’s Fake Soccer Team
One of the most bizarre match-fixing cases occurred in 2010 when a fake team of Togolese soccer players lost 3-0 to Bahrain. It wasn’t because the players threw the game; they weren’t good enough. An investigation was mounted after the Togolese FA claimed they were unaware of the players. Former coach Tchanile Bana pocketed around $60,000 after putting the fake team together.
17. 1978/79: Boston College Point Shaving
The ASU scandal of the 1990s was the biggest in college basketball, but it wasn’t the first time point-shaving had tainted the sport. In the 1978/79 season, several members of the Boston College team fell in with mobsters. The aim was to not win by a required number of points, triggering winning bets for those who hired them. Although the investigation implicated several players, only Rick Kuhn was officially identified.
18. 1993: Marseille Stripped of Their Title
A massive scandal affected French soccer in the early 1990s. Marseille was the biggest club in the country at the time, fielding top domestic and international players. Ahead of the 1993 Champions League final, when Marseille faced AC Milan, the French side was due to face Valenciennes in the league. A Marseille player approached three Valenciennes players to take a bribe to throw the match, but one blew the whistle. Marseille were stripped of their league title, while club President Bernard Tapie received two years in prison.
19. 2008: Nelson Piquet’s Deliberate Crash
Formula One fans are aware of team orders offering preference to specific drivers. If one roster member leads the championship, their teammate will let them pass. In 2008, Nelson Piquet went to great and possibly unnecessary lengths to help out fellow Renault driver Fernando Alonso. He crashed out on lap 14 of the Singapore circuit and initially put it down to an error. Suspicions arose, and Piquet later admitted he was carrying out team orders. Renault received race-fixing charges, which the team chose not to contest.
20. 2010: Match Fixing Hits eSports
The world of professional video gaming isn’t exempt from match-fixing scandals. The first reported incident of this kind took place in 2010 when suspicion surrounded a group of StarCraft players. Two arrests followed, and it was later confirmed that Ma Jae-Yoon and By Crocus aimed to broker deals between bettors and gamers.
21. 2013: Indian Premier League Spot Fixing
The Indian Premier League is cricket’s biggest domestic tournament, but it hasn’t always been clean. In 2013, another spot-fixing scandal rocked the sport. Amidst broader issues with betting on the outcome, three members of the Rajasthan Royals team, including Indian international S. Sreesanth, were arrested. They gave telling gestures on the field, confirming their guilt.
22. 2020: Darts Misses the Target
Match-fixing allegations in darts are rare, with few proven cases. In 2020, Wessel Nijman and Kyle McKinstry were found guilty of offenses by the Darts Regulation Authority, and both received suspensions from the sport. Both offenses are related to the Modus: A Night at the Darts tournament.
23. 2006: Calciopoli Soccer Scandal
The match-fixing scandal uncovered in 2006 was one of the most extensive in any sport. Top Italian soccer clubs, including Juventus and AC Milan, had conspired to influence the appointment of match officials to earn favorable decisions during games. Point deductions followed, and the three clubs dropped to Series B in the case of Fiorentina, Juventus, and Lazio.
24. 2007: NBA Referee Cashes in
Basketball made another appearance in 2007, and it’s all down to the work of referee Tim Donaghy. In 2003, Donaghy started betting on games that he was officiating in. Unfortunately for the crooked ref, gamblers spotted his wagers, and irregular patterns aroused suspicion. He later spent 15 months in a federal prison.
25. 1979: Cricket’s Bizarre Forfeit
Cricket is my passion, and I’m saddened to see the sport feature on so many occasions. In 1979, a strange match occurred in a domestic cup tie between Somerset and Worcestershire. Somerset declared their innings closed after just one over to protect their strike rate and ensure qualification to the next phase. They lost the game but progressed. Spectators were incensed, and a rule change prevented such a disgraceful incident from occurring again.
