Corruption In Sport

Corruption is a major problem for the sporting authorities to deal with.

We have seen recent examples of match fixing scandals in cricket, snooker, failed drugs tests for athletes and tickets for events being sold on the black market.

Is there anything that the sporting governing bodies can do to stamp this out?
Is the problem deeper than that, and is this a result of poor education as grass roots levels?
Is it something that will always cast a shadow over the sports we watch and love?

What's your thoughts on corruption in sport?

The problem in my opinion is the MONEY that is now involved in sports
and the fame attached to sports now, mean that people are more
intrested in personal gain, then in sportsmanship.

The grass roots problem, is that people see how the stars act, and
think that is the way to be, But parents pushing there kids are also
a slight problem,trying to relieve there dreams.

Does it taint the sport. Certain sorts like cycling, athletics baseball etc
yes, because when someone does well most people automatically
think that they are cheating, and natural talent is now believed to be
2nd to whatever they have taken etc. Football, rugby less so.

Will it change, unfortunatly i can't see it at the moment.

That ref in the Leeds vs. Nottingham Forest match just now was pretty corrupt if you ask me!

I'm pretty sure the ref booked a Forest player for breathing at some point in the match.

You know, there can't be that many who's sole aim is to rip off the sport for personal gain once they have spent so long training and getting coached to get to a standard whereby they are good enough to influence the outcome of a match.

But, its a sign of the times that they do get approached many times during their career, with tasty backhanders to get them to throw a match or produce mistakes etc at certain times.

How strong is their will, when sometimes they are threatened with violence, towards them and their families or property. The fact that the numbers involved are huge, the targets are victimised by the criminals and it takes a strong person to walk away from it.



Of course there are those who think that the money is easy and the gain outweighs the gamble of getting caught, but they can be young or come from deprived backgrounds and from poor countries and I would not like to be the one to administer justice where those that do help the gangs are doing it out of desperation or financial need. Its no excuse but I would have a certain amount of sympathy towards those that fall for the lure of security because the temptation and pressure to bend to the will of the criminals is too much, especially if their family are involved.

As long as there's a lot of money in sport there will always be corruption. Money is the root of all evil.