Match-fixing: do you recognise it?

Match-fixing, the manipulation of competition results, is a major threat to the world of sport. In combat sports too, there are known cases of bribery and other forms of cheating. Be aware of this, so that you can recognise it in time.

Match-fixing is receiving more and more attention. It is a form of transgressive behaviour that harms a great many people. There are known cases in which a number of players in a professional football team deliberately played badly in order to lose by conceding many goals. Boxers, too, have admitted on occasion that they had been bribed and deliberately went ‘down’ at an agreed moment.

What may seem like an easy bit of extra income can cost you your career and your reputation. Athletes who cooperate are also vulnerable to extortion by criminals.

It is important that athletes know what match-fixing is. There are various forms. What can you do if you are approached to manipulate a match? This video by NOC*NSF (the Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federation) explains it.

If you have questions or wish to report something, you can contact the Centrum Veilige Sport (Centre for Safe Sport) or a confidential counsellor for combat sports.