1/25/16 · Law and Political Science Studies

Tennis players are the victims

Corruption has once again tainted the world of sport. Sports betting has sullied the once impeccable world of professional tennis. The result is that more than a dozen elite players have been accused of being implicated. Yet fining or even arresting these sportspeople is not the solution, "because this kind of action will not eradicate these fraudulent practices," warns Xavier Pastor, Conflict Resolution lecturer at the UOC.
This fraud stems from major betting consortiums which also propagate corruption.<br />Photo: David Hawkins-Weeks/ Flickr (cc)

This fraud stems from major betting consortiums which also propagate corruption.
Photo: David Hawkins-Weeks/ Flickr (cc)

Pastor says that measures need to be taken "against the root cause of these situations and those responsible". This will keep "players and clubs from falling into and becoming involved in these practices, because at the end of the day it's the people and organizations in possession of these resources that cause this damage to the sport through the players who, as victims, take part in them."


The tennis players are the victims

The dozen elite sportspeople implicated have been "coerced, blackmailed and threatened with violence, so it's not hard to understand why tennis players who earn a lot of money, or clubs with healthy budgets, end up getting involved in these fraudulent practices," explains the expert.

Therefore, "We need to realise that betting per se is not the direct cause of these situations. The fraud stems from the major betting consortiums that propagate corruption," says Pastor.


Cash is tainting fair play

In the last few years, betting has become a real headache for the institutions responsible for safeguarding the rules and regulations of the sport.

The competition is no longer sporting but economic. The professor explains that "the goal of this match-fixing is not competitive by nature, in order to maintain a certain seeding or win a trophy, but external, related to winning huge sums of money by private individuals who use sports events and sportspeople as a means to an end".

Some international organizations, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Olympic Committee, have been voicing their concern for some time about cases of irregular betting and are working on measures to help Member States take legal action against these cases of corruption, explains Clàudia Solanes, collaborating lecturer at the UOC and an expert on sport and values.


Sportspeople: role models worth following?

Pastor wants to emphasise the public facet of these elite sportspeople because "their profession, their lifestyle and the public image of the sport have enormous appeal to children". Consequently, she warns about the negative effect that this lack of ethics and its consequences could have on the general population.

Along the same lines, Solanes says: "It is essential to get to the bottom of all these accusations of irregularities in order to clean up the image of the sport, an image that should continue to be associated with fair play, integrity and physical endeavour".


Other cases of sports corruption, especially in the world of football

Historically, "football has been one of the main targets of underhand practices by both players and clubs", says Pastor. "The usual procedure has been buying off clubs or players to the benefit of another team in the competition, to win a championship or to avoid relegation".

Pastor gives the example of the so-called maletines (briefcases) in Spanish football (teams who let themselves be defeated in exchange for cash), the "Calciopoli" case (the corruption of referees in Italian football in 2005 and 2006 to benefit big clubs such as Juventus FC, AC Milan and Fiorentina) and the 2012 scandal in Italy known as "Calcioscommesse" (various players and coaches of the top teams were found to have links with international organizations in order to "fix football matches", boosting the winnings of certain gamblers).


The wrong sanctions

In all these situations, the players and coaches were arrested, prosecuted and penalized. "In the case of the maletines, the clubs were fined and lost their league category. In the case of irregular betting, some players and coaches were even banned from practising the sport for life. Meanwhile, the networks behind these practices get off completely scot-free," says Pastor.

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