hankyoreh

By Kim Yeon-ki

“It’s actually better this way. Even if it causes a big upset, we need to take this opportunity for a thorough cleanup.”
In the recent match-fixing incident, which will likely go down as the greatest scandal in Korean football history, the greatest fault seems to lie with the managers whose job is to manage their players. All kinds of rumors and theories, moreover, are floating about, including that some managers knew in advance that their players had been complicit in match rigging but tried to conceal the fact. On May 27, managers spoke up, shedding light on what the football community had to say.
“We can only say how sorry we are as leaders of the football world,” they said. “We have to take this opportunity for a thorough clean up in order to make sure this does not happen again, even if doing so sends shockwaves through the entire footballing world.”
The precise picture has yet to be formed, but managers of civic teams, which are relatively more exposed to match fixing, are more on edge than those of prestigious corporate teams. “Our results this year have not been good, so lots of people have a less than good opinion about us. That makes me all the more anxious,” said Gangwon FC manager Kim Sang-ho.
“In the second half of last year, when unsettling rumours started going round, we took all the players’ computers and even checked for traces of joining gambling sites.” Choi Man-hee, manager of Gwangju FC, one of whose players was arrested for match fixing, expressed regret, saying, “As the manager of a fledgling team I should have paid closer attention. I apologize to my fans for not doing so. If I had stepped in a bit earlier, the match fixing probably would not have spread to such a wide extent.”
A sense of crisis hung over the managers, who agreed that a half-baked response to the problem could easily lead to their collective downfall.
“In a situation where even prosecutors have got involved, we have to dig all the way down,” said Pohang Steelers manager Hwang Sun-hong. He expressed concern, saying, “If we let the matter pass with an irresolute response, it could lead to a bigger disaster later on.”
Gyeongnam FC manager Choi Jin-han said, “It’s actually better this way. We need to raise awareness among other players by punishing those that had done wrong. If we don’t this could lead to the end of professional football itself.”
K-League matches must be played this weekend, but the atmosphere is uneasy. If this extends into a situation where players are unable to trust each other, the psychological sense of unease will inevitably lead to a deterioration in play.
Many claimed that self-reform among teams must be a priority.
“After a match, I watch the video of it together with the other coaches,” said Ulsan Hyundai FC manager Ki Ho-gon. “That way, we soon spot suspicious players.”
Busan I’Park FC manager Ahn Ik-soo said, “Players must understand that they themselves are the ultimate victims of match fixing. If a player rigs a match, his fellow players are the first to find out. That’s why players themselves have to actively look for and inform on match fixers.”
Some also pointed out, however, that in the world of sport, where team relationships count above all else, there is a limit to what can be achieved by simply piling pressure on players, without concrete evidence.
“If something strange happens in a match, I might get suspicious and say to the other coaches, ‘What’s that player up to?’ but it’s difficult to make an accusation of match fixing on that alone,” said Jeju United FC manager Park Kyung-hoon. “Simply pressing the players can damage trust.”
In fact, problems in Korean society also play a part in making footballers succumb to the temptation of dirty money. There is a legal betting site, Sports Toto, but around 500 illegal sports betting sites operate free from harassment. The sports betting market is said to amount to three or four trillion won (according to an 2011 investigation by Sports Toto). Crackdowns are said to be of limited effect, due to an administrative period of processing reported illegal betting that lasts between one and two months. Illegal betting is inevitably flourishing.
Korea’s sporting culture has failed to give sports players opportunities to build up experience in society. Footballers are trained to do only one thing: kicking a ball. They have not had ample opportunities for education through a school curriculum. They are inevitably weak when faced with the kind of tricks used by the bad elements of society.
One figure in the world of football said, “We need to wait calmly for the result of the investigation, rather than causing hurt with rumors and indiscriminate theories. We need to head in a direction where we study systems and methods of education that can prevent match fixing from happening again.”

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