41 South Korea players banned for match-fixing
Reuters - Wednesday 09 January 2013, 11:59
Forty-one players from South Korea's K-League have had their lifetime
bans extended worldwide following a match-fixing scandal, although 21 of
them have been offered a reprieve, FIFA said on Wednesday.
The
41 had already been banned for life by the Korea Football Association
following the scandal which erupted in 2011 and involved matches played
the previous year. The scandal led the South Korean government to
threaten to wind up the K-League if action was not taken.
Ten
other players involved in match-fixing were given worldwide bans by
FIFA in June while in March, South Korea's volleyball association banned
11 players for life in a bid to curb corruption in domestic sport.
FIFA
said that a reprieve had been offered to 21 players who turned
themselves in during the voluntary reporting period and expressed "grave
regret" about their involvement in match-fixing.
The
players would have to undergo a probation period of between two and
five years, including periods of community service ranging from 200 to
500 hours.
"The probation is
voluntary, which means that the respective player has to inform the
K-League that he wishes to return to football," said FIFA.
"At this point, the player then has to commit himself to one of a variety of community services related to football.
"These
services include the provision of coaching classes for local football
clubs for youth and adult players, involvement in and support of
football for those with disabilities, and the support of ongoing and
future domestic anti-match-fixing activities.
"The
reinstatement of the respective player in football after the probation
period will only be decided by the Korea Football Association (KFA)."
Match-fixing
is regarded as one of the biggest problems facing football with recent
scandals also hitting Italian and Turkish domestic football as well as the
national teams of Guatemala, Nicaragua and South Africa.
Guatemala
last year gave lifetime bans to three regular internationals and one
Nicaraguan was banned for life by his federation. Those bans have also
been extended worldwide by FIFA.
Last
month, a FIFA report sent to the South Africa Football Association
alleged that the results of South Africa's pre-World Cup warm-up matches
against Thailand, Bulgaria, Colombia and Guatemala leading up the 2010
finals were fixed and implicated the nation's officials.
On
Sunday, SAFA reinstated its president and four other leading officials
suspended over the scandal, saying they were improperly removed from
office.
FIFA say that
match-fixing is usually organised by illegal gambling rings who win
money by betting on the results of matches they are manipulating with
the help of players, officials or referees.