Match-fixing in football
2 min read
The sport of football is no doubt one of the most popular sports on the planet. Due to its mass popularity, a lot of money is constantly being invested into the sport. Although some may believe that the money involved goes solely towards the benefit of the sport itself, it is no secret that certain football match results are being unfairly manipulated.
These fixed football matches are causing a lot of harm to the football industry and quite visibly they’re also harming the football audience. If you’ve ever watched a football match, chances are that you have experienced this yourself too. Many spectators of the sport often tend to build up suspicion over certain matches since they feel that certain actions of the game were clearly staged for the benefit of a particular side.
Even though there has been an increase in fixed matches in the recent years, throughout the long history of the sport there were many other evident cases of match fixing. Back in the day, this process was perhaps riskier since it had to be done in person, in contrast to the modern world, where such acts can be done anonymously, for instance through certain dark web websites.
The most common instances of match fixing were done through bribing referees or by bribing certain key players from the opposing team. One of the most well-known instances of match fixing occurred in 2005, a season in which the entire Italian football league (Serie A) was affected due to a selection of biased referees.
While fixed football matches are still occurring every day due to the wider availability of sites that offer these services on the deep web, it is safe to say that the most financially equipped leagues are preventing this from happening in many ways. One of the most effective ways that modern leagues use to tackle match fixing is no other than the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR), a system which uses modern technology which ensures that matches are being played fairly. This system is constantly being introduced into new leagues, which will eventually result in a declination of fixed matches.
