Match Fixing

[ytry4]

I was just thinking about this match fixing issue. Does anyone think it is possible to fix a game of footy these days? Love to hear your opinions...

[AlfAndrews]

Bloody oath it is.

A lot of people say it can't be done because you'd have to pay off too many players to have a quiet day. But what about the umpires. If was a match fixer, the umpires would be the people I'd pay off.

Unfortunately, the way the rules are these days the umpires have far too much impact on a game. Things like 50 metre penalties. And the fact that there's three of the maggots means that a lot of minor interference that used to be just ignored gets picked up. But umpires seem to have selective vision with these things. Whether they pay a free or not seems to depend on what sort of mood they're in.

Often you'll get two players in the goal square hanging on to each other. Suddenly for no reason other than to look like he is doing his job, an over-zealous umpire will rush in, arms waving, whistle blowing and award a free kick, usually to the full-forward, straight in front. Soft as chicken shit and totally arbitrary.

So with three umpires you're getting 3 times as many decisions being made. That means 3 times as many chances to get it wrong.

Todays match against the Kangaroos was a classic example of a match in which the umpires had a huge bearing on the outcome. Whether or not they were "on the take" the fact remains that those maggots umpired us out of the game in the second quarter and when we made a spirited comeback in the 3rd quarter they umpired us out of it again.



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**floreat pica**

[ytry4]

But it gives me a feeling like the game is now tainted and I don't feel like I'm watching a REAL fought out contest. Nothing to do with the umpire's. Just imagine a coach got bribed to lose a match...

[AlfAndrews]

A coach could probably throw a game but why would he? The money involved in footy betting is really chicken feed. Coaches at AFL level get paid a king's ransom but they can be sacked pretty easily if they stuff up too often. Umpires, on the other hand, aren't paid as well. So they'd be more susceptible to "inducements". And they stuff up all the time anyway, so who would be any the wiser?

Generally the more money involved in the actual event itself, the less likely it is to be tainted by corruption. In horse racing, for example, the shonkiest races are the small time provincial meetings where the prizemoney is low. It would not be hard to set up a "boat race" in a Maiden at Pakenham, but there is no way known that you could rig the Melbourne Cup or the Cox Plate because the prizemoney and the prestige involved in winning is so high. You may get jockeys cheating in order to try to win, but they're very unlikely to pull a horse up if it is a genuine contender in a big race. And generally the most corrupt jockeys are the battlers rather than the big names.
That's why I think the umpires are more likely to be the best target for a "fix" rather than coaches or top players.

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**floreat pica**

[2 PIES IN CAIRNS]

By using the term "match fixing" don't automatically read "throwing a game". There are now many different ways to bet on a game of footy (and cricket, etc.) You can bet on which player will kick the first goal, which player will kick the most goals in the game, how many goals a team will be at ,say, half time and - here's where a lot of money is won and lost - how much a team will win by! Let's say a team has been backed to win by between 24 and 36 points. There's 10 seconds to go in the game, the team is 34 points in front, the opposition CHB drops a sitter, his opponent runs into an open goal and from 20 metres out straight in front .... the ball comes off the side of his boot and goes through for a behind. The great unwashed in the outer couldn't give a stuff 'cause their team of stars have just won by 35 points. There will be a few comments like "how the hell did he miss that last goal? Oh, it didn't really matter, we creamed 'em anyway". But someone has cleaned up big time and maybe the slush fund for the end of season trip receives an anonymous donation from a grateful supporter. Oh yeah, it can happen.

[ytry4]

So what can we do...nothing! It just feels tainted and now I feel uncomfortable with all this.