http://www.sport.telegraph.co.uk/sp...t12.xml&sSheet=/sport/2003/10/12/ixsport.html
Brittiläisen Telegraph lehden artikkeli sopupeleistä.
Pätkiä:
Top international tennis players are deliberately throwing matches for financial gain. It is believed that bets of up to £80,000 have been placed by players, through their coaches and other intermediaries, with internet betting exchanges, resulting in massive pay-outs.
The ATP were first made aware of the concerns of betting more than three months ago. Most of the players under suspicion are outside the top 100. However, last week the ATP took the unprecedented step of warning a former world top 10-ranked player against not trying after it was brought to their attention that there had been heavy, irregular betting on one of his matches, in which he lost in straight sets.
There is no doubt in the minds of some people as to the punishment for any player found guilty of throwing a match. "They should be jailed, no doubt about it. They're ruining the game," said John Lloyd, the television analyst and former Davis Cup player.
The ATP have privately admitted that several players were under scrutiny.
The responsibility for investigating the problem lies with Richard Ings, the ATP's executive vice-president of rules and competition.
He declined to comment when asked whether any players were currently under investigation for betting-related activities, but said: "The penalty for any player found guilty of match-fixing is $100,000 (£62,500) plus whatever money he made from the bet and a three-year suspension, which is tantamount to a life ban.
The sport has long been aware of the lesser problem of 'tanking', whereby players deliberately lose matches, more often than not for relatively innocent reasons, like the need to move on to another tournament where they are contracted to play. Two weeks ago, Georgian Irakli Labadze was fined $7,500 (£4,700) for not trying. But deliberately losing matches for personal financial gain - not something Labadze has been accused of - is a disturbing new phenomenon within the sport.
Betting on matches is frequently suspended because of "irregular betting patterns". Last week the betting on the match between the Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Fernando Vicente, of Spain, at the Lyons Grand Prix was suspended when, according to the Racing Post, a huge worldwide gamble was landed on the Spaniard. Vicente, who won 6-2, 6-3, had not won a match since June. His odds toppled from 5-1 to odds-on favourite on one of the exchanges, while fixed-odds bookmakers suspended betting six hours before the match was due to start. There is no suggestion, however, that either player was involved.
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Aug 18. Ings requests a supervisor's report into the Feliciano Lopez v Jarkko Nieminen match in Long Island, after being alerted to suspicious betting patterns by The Sunday Telegraph. Lopez retires through injury when 1-0 down in the second set.