SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea has launched a probe into rampant allegations of football betting fraud, arresting two suspected fixers and investigating two players, prosecutors said.
A report in the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper gave a larger figure for the numbers involved, saying 10 players from three clubs in the national professional K-League were
being investigated for fixing matches.
A spokesman for the prosecution office in the southeastern city of Changwon said the two alleged fixers were charged with bribing the two players—a goalkeeper and a midfielder—to rig the results of matches.
"We've asked for arrest warrants for the two players," the spokesman told AFP. "We will leave no stone unturned and expand the probe if necessary."
He said the two players, who were not identified, were being questioned Thursday.
Prosecutors said the two alleged fixers purchased sports lottery tickets and paid the two players to fix games in order to win large sums.
"We are investigating if the lottery was legal and how much money they won," a prosecutor was quoted as saying by Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.
The suspected fixers, including a former professional player, allegedly handed 100 million won ($91,716) to the goalkeeper and 120 million won to the midfielder last month in return for rigging a tournament.
The goalkeeper appeared in four games between March 16 and May 11 and let in a total of 11 goals, causing his team to lose three out of the four matches.
The midfielder played in one game and committed four fouls before being replaced after a break. His team lost that game.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper said a third player, a 27-year-old striker who once played for the national team, was being investigated for suspected involvement in match-fixing.
Rumours abound about match-fixing in the country's pro football league.
Dong-A quoted an unidentified former player as saying that football clubs tend to hush up such scandals and have been silently expelling players implicated in match-rigging since last year.
Players are exposed to growing temptation because the country's illicit online gambling sites, many of them operated by crime rings in South Korea and China, have been growing exponentially, news reports said.
A report in the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper gave a larger figure for the numbers involved, saying 10 players from three clubs in the national professional K-League were
being investigated for fixing matches.
A spokesman for the prosecution office in the southeastern city of Changwon said the two alleged fixers were charged with bribing the two players—a goalkeeper and a midfielder—to rig the results of matches.
"We've asked for arrest warrants for the two players," the spokesman told AFP. "We will leave no stone unturned and expand the probe if necessary."
He said the two players, who were not identified, were being questioned Thursday.
Prosecutors said the two alleged fixers purchased sports lottery tickets and paid the two players to fix games in order to win large sums.
"We are investigating if the lottery was legal and how much money they won," a prosecutor was quoted as saying by Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.
The suspected fixers, including a former professional player, allegedly handed 100 million won ($91,716) to the goalkeeper and 120 million won to the midfielder last month in return for rigging a tournament.
The goalkeeper appeared in four games between March 16 and May 11 and let in a total of 11 goals, causing his team to lose three out of the four matches.
The midfielder played in one game and committed four fouls before being replaced after a break. His team lost that game.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper said a third player, a 27-year-old striker who once played for the national team, was being investigated for suspected involvement in match-fixing.
Rumours abound about match-fixing in the country's pro football league.
Dong-A quoted an unidentified former player as saying that football clubs tend to hush up such scandals and have been silently expelling players implicated in match-rigging since last year.
Players are exposed to growing temptation because the country's illicit online gambling sites, many of them operated by crime rings in South Korea and China, have been growing exponentially, news reports said.
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