Gambling brokers, players arrested for rigging soccer games

Two gambling brokers and two players in Korea`s pro soccer league have been arrested on the charge of match fixing.

Prosecutors in the southeastern industrial city of Changwon said one of the two gambling brokers is a former pro soccer player. The two were charged with giving money to two active players for deliberately committing mistakes to allow their clubs to lose. The two players – a goalkeeper and a midfielder – have also been arrested and are being interrogated.

The brokers allegedly handed 100 million won (90,950 U.S. dollars) and 120 million won (109,140 dollars) to each of the players in return for rigging this year`s Rush & Cash Cup games every Wednesday, not the main K-League games.

Investigators also said the goalkeeper appeared in four of his team`s games between March 16 and May 11, allowing 11 goals in those games. His team lost three of the four games. The midfielder played in one game and was replaced in the second half after committing four fouls. His team lost that game.

Prosecutors said they will seek arrest warrants for the players after confirming how they received the money, the level of their involvement in match rigging, and whether they shared the money with other players.

Whether the brokers received funds from crime organizations will also be investigated.

Prosecutors said the two brokers purchased sports lottery tickets and paid the two players to rig games to win large sums in betting. “We are investigating if the lottery was legal and how much money they won,” a prosecutor said.

The Rush and Cash Cup is held on the sidelines of the K-League`s regular season. All of Korea’s 16 pro soccer clubs compete in the event, which opened in March.

manman@donga.com