Badminton: Match-Fixing bans imposed for the first time!
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
Sadly, match-fixing in sport is never far, these days, from the sporting headlines, as earlier posts on this website testify.
The latest sport to fall foul of this pernicious and unacceptable practice is badminton.
For the first time ever, career-ending bans have been imposed on two high-ranking Malaysian badminton players for match-fixing.
Thirty-one-year old Tan Chun Seang and twenty-five-year old Zulfadli Zulkiffli, a former junior world champion, have received bans of 15 and 20 years respectively.
An independent Badminton World Federation (BWF) Ethics Hearing Panel has found that both players “engaged in corruption offences over a significant period and a significant number of tournaments” since 2013, contrary to the BWF Code of Conduct relating to “betting, wagering and irregular match results.”
Not only are they banned from competition, but also from coaching, officiating at events, and undertaking administrative and developmental roles in the sport.
They have also been fined US$15,000 and US$25,000 respectively.
These are certainly harsh and wide-ranging penalties and will, hopefully, send a chilling warning message to any other would be match-fixers in the sport of badminton.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ’
