Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Match-fixing: Football referees’ attitudes and experiences

  • Published:
Crime, Law and Social Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Match-fixing is increasingly perceived by both national and European policy makers and independent observers as a major threat to the integrity of sports, and in particular football. A series of recent scandals in different European countries seems to corroborate the perception of football’s growing vulnerability to manipulations, suggesting that such vulnerability may be related to football’s popularity, the huge related financial interests and the rapid growth of online betting. Nonetheless, the empirical research on match-fixing in football has so far been very limited. Against this background, we present in this paper the results of survey amongst 595 referees belonging to the Royal Belgian Football Association about their attitudes towards the incidence, disclosure and combatting, and reporting of match-fixing, as well as their personal experiences with match-fixing. The main findings can be summarized as follows: (1) approximately 44% of the referees believes that at least one in ten Belgian football games is fixed; (2) 41% of the referees considers the likelihood of match-fixing in football being disclosed (very) low; (3) only 11% of the referees is aware of at least one protected reporting system for match-fixing; (4) 23.5% of the referees has already witnessed or suspected match-fixing in football; and (5) only 12% of the referees who witnessed or suspected match-fixing reported the only/last case of match-fixing they witnessed or suspected. Although our referee’s perceptions might not correspond to reality, our findings suggest the need to introduce adequate protected reporting systems, conduct awareness campaigns and intensify law enforcement agencies’ and sports bodies’ cooperation and data sharing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Gross revenues from gambling represents the amount of money the gambling operation keeps from the customer’s stakes, wagers, bets etc. minus the winning paid out and before deducting operating expenses [12].

  2. FIFA or Fédération Internationale de Football Association (in English: International Federation of Association Football) is the highest governing body of football.

  3. Robert Hoyzer was a German referee who fixed several matches in German professional football in 2004 and 2005 in return for thousands of euros from the mastermind of a €2 million scam [43].

  4. Possible answers: National Olympic Committee; sports federations; sports secretariat/Ministry of Sports; police; judiciary; independent entity of civil society; players’ unions or other body.

  5. Possible reasons: love/respect for the sport; protection of the integrity of the sport; abiding the law; defense of ethics and fair-play; fear of being involved in an organized crime scheme; fear of the consequences for the (sports) career; fear of the consequences for the personal life; loss of sponsorships; loss of prestige; reception of a reward; other reason(s)

  6. Possible reasons: fear of the consequences for the (sports) career, fear of the consequences for the personal life; fear of losing sponsorships; fear of losing prestige; fear of exclusion from the sports system; lack of confidence in the sports system or the application of sports sanctions; lack of confidence in the criminal justice system or the application of criminal sanctions; lack of confidence in the existing reporting systems; lack of safety measures for people reporting match-fixing; breaking the code of silence; disclosure of confidential information; other reason(s)

  7. See reasons listed in footnote 6.

  8. See reasons listed in footnote 5.

  9. The French-speaking referees were excluded from the target population because we could not find a way to access all of them as we did for the Dutch-speaking ones. We also wanted to avoid any potential bias in the results because of small linguistic differences in the questionnaires used.

  10. We included grassroots level referees in our study for two reasons. First, previous studies have shown that the large majority of match-fixing cases involve grassroots football and are non-betting related (e.g., [22]), thus illustrating the importance of the perspective of grassroots referees and other stakeholders at the grassroots level. Second, due to the limited number of professional Dutch-speaking referees in Belgium, we could not launch a survey just for them.

  11. For a questionnaire to be retained for the analyses, at least the first two questions of the block about the attitudes towards the incidence of match-fixing had to be completed.

  12. https://www.belgianfootball.be/nl/competities/meldpunt-competitievervalsing

References

  1. iGamingbusiness. (2019). Macolin Convention set to come into force from September. Retrieved from www.igamingbusiness.com/news/macolin-convention-set-come-force-september.

  2. Gorse, S., & Chadwick, S. (2011). The prevalence of corruption in international sport: A statistical analysis. Retrieved from www.eu-ssa.org/essa_wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/The-Prevalence-of-Corruption-in-International-Sport.pdf.

  3. Sporza. (2018). Herbeleef een bewogen dag voor het Belgische voetbal. Retrieved from www.sporza.be/nl/matches/voetbal/2018-10/liveblog-gerechtelijk-onderzoek-bij-topclubs-jupiler-pro-league/.

  4. Couzens, G. (2019). Ex-Leeds star Raul Bravo remanded in prison over La Liga ‘match-fixing scandal’. The Sun. Retrieved from www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/9190641/leeds-raul-bravo-prison-match-fixing-scandal/.

  5. FIFPro. (2012). FIFPro black book Eastern Europe – The problems professional footballers encounter: Research. Hoofddorp: FIFPro.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Zamante. (2012). Transfers, money and the social aspect in Belgian amateur football. Retrieved from www.slideshare.net/zamante/zamante-research-amateur-footb.

  7. Deutscher, C., Dimant, E., & Humphreys, B. R. (2017). Match fixing and sports betting in football: Empirical evidence from the German Bundesliga. SSRN Electronic Journal. Retrieved from www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2910662.

  8. Hill, D. (2010). A critical mass of corruption: Why some football leagues have more match-fixing than others. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 11(3), 38–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Deloitte. (2019). World in motion: Annual review of football finance 2019. Retrieved from www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html.

  10. UEFA. (2019). The European club footballing landscape. Retrieved from www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/OfficialDocument/uefaorg/Clublicensing/02/59/40/27/2594027_DOWNLOAD.pdf.

  11. Littler, A., & Fijnaut, C. (2007). The regulation of gambling: European and national perspectives. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. Gough, C. (2019). Sports betting and gambling market/industry - Statistics & facts. Retrieved from www.statista.com/topics/1740/sports-betting/.

  13. Lange, D. (2019). Gambling industry in Europe - Statistics & facts. Retrieved from www.statista.com/topics/3660/gambling-industry-in-europe/.

  14. Bensinger, K. (2018). Red card: How the U.S. blew the whistle on the world's biggest sports scandal. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Fouques, A. (2019). Is FIFA serious about fighting match-fixing? Retrieved from www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/is-fifa-serious-about-fighting-match-fixing/.

  16. Harvey, A., & Levi, H. (2014). Don’t fix it! An education and prevention programme to fight match-fixing in football. Retrieved from www.fifpro.org/attachments/article/5362/Don'tFixIt-PlayersQuestionnaireResultsandAnalysis.pdf.

  17. Spapens, T., & Olfers, M. (2015). Match-fixing: The current discussion in Europe and the case of the Netherlands. European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 23, 333–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Gorse, S., & Chadwick, S. (2010). Conceptualising corruption in sport: Implications for sponsorship programmes. The European Business Review, July/August. Retrieved from www.curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/file/b199de7d-88b2-aa7d-122b-d8f83fb414e9/1/Conceptualisingcorruption-2.pdf.

  19. Nowy, T., & Breuer, C. (2017). Match-fixing in European grassroots football. European Sport Management Quarterly, 17, 24–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Preston, I., & Szymanski, S. (2003). Cheating in contests. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 19, 612–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, Sep. 18, 2014, C.E.T.S. No. 215.

  22. Van Der Hoeven, S., De Waegeneer, E., Constandt, B., & Willem, A. (2019). Match-fixing: Moral challenges for those involved. Ethics & Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2019.1667238. Advance online publication.

  23. Spapens, T., & Olfers, M. (2013). Matchfixing in Nederland: De aard en reikwijdte van het probleem, de risico's en de aanpak. Tilburg: Tilburg University.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Spapens, T. (2017). Match-fixing. In H. Nelen & D. Siegel (Eds.), Contemporary organized crime: Developments, challenges and responses (pp. 139–154). Cham: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  25. Eeckhaut, M. (2006). Paul Put verkocht twee wedstrijden aan gokmaffia. De Standaard. Retrieved from www.standaard.be/cnt/g9goe9i3.

  26. MRE. (2006). Mitu spreekt. Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved from www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/go6p72i1.

  27. Vandewalle, L. (2006). De werkwijze van de gokmaffia. Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved from www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/g00oevbu.

  28. Eeckhaut, M., Cools, S., & Tanghe, N. (2018). Operatie schone handen: probeerde Mechelen via matchfixing in eerste te blijven? De Standaard. Retrieved from www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20181010_03825109.

  29. GVDL. (2018). Het gerecht is duidelijk: Veljkovic pleegde honderden ‘verdachte’ gesprekken met Belgische toprefs. Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved from www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20181031_03896539.

  30. MMaeckelbergh, B. (2018). “Antwerp moet winnen, hè”: De afgeluisterde telefoontjes tussen Veljkovic en refs Vertenten en Delferière. De Morgen. Retrieved from www.demorgen.be/nieuws/antwerp-moet-winnen-he-de-afgeluisterde-telefoontjes-tussen-veljkovic-en-refs-vertenten-en-delferiere~b588518e.

  31. Maeckelbergh, B., & Bossaert, J. (2018). Veljkovic bood Waasland-Beveren 200.000 euro voor cruciale degradatiematch. Het Laatste Nieuws. Retrieved from www.hln.be/sport/voetbal/belgisch-voetbal/veljkovic-bood-waasland-beveren-200-000-euro-voor-cruciale-degradatiematch~a4831573/.

  32. Negen aanhoudingen in 'Operatie Propere Handen'. (2018). De Tijd. Retrieved from www.tijd.be/dossiers/fraude-in-belgisch-voetbal/negen-aanhoudingen-in-operatie-propere-handen/10058333.html.

  33. NOS. (2018). 22 verdachten voorgeleid in onderzoek naar fraude in Belgische voetbal. Retrieved from www.nos.nl/artikel/2254363-22-verdachten-voorgeleid-in-onderzoek-naar-fraude-in-belgische-voetbal.html.

  34. Fraudeonderzoek voetbal: KV Mechelen gedegradeerd naar 1B, Waasland-Beveren vrijuit. (2019). Sportvoetbalmagazine. Retrieved from www.sportmagazine.knack.be/sport/voetbal-nationaal/fraudeonderzoek-voetbal-kv-mechelen-gedegradeerd-naar-1b-waasland-beveren-vrijuit/article-news-1471429.html.

  35. ATV. (2019). KV Mechelen en alle andere Mechelse betrokkenen stappen naar het BAS. Retrieved from www.atv.be/nieuws/kv-mechelen-en-alle-andere-mechelse-betrokkenen-stappen-naar-het-bas.

  36. Lokeren versus Beerschot: Waaslanders claimen plek in 1A bij degradatie van KV Mechelen. (2019). De Standaard. Retrieved from www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20190605_04445815.

  37. Sporza. (2019). BAS: KV Mechelen mag Europa niet in, maar start in 1A zonder puntenaftrek. Retrieved from www.sporza.be/nl/2019/07/17/uitspraak-van-bas-kv-mechelen-mag-europa-niet-in/.

  38. Carpenter, K. (2012). Match-fixing - the biggest threat to sport in the 21st century? International Sports Law Review, 2, 13–24.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Huggins, M. (2018). Match-fixing: A historical perspective. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 35, 123–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Manoli, A. E., & Antonopoulos, G. A. (2015). ‘The only game in town?’: Football match-fixing in Greece. Trends in Organized Crime, 18, 196–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Sultanoğlu, B., Kucukkocaoğlu, G., & Alp, O. S. (2018). Match-fixing in Turkish football super league: Fenerbahçe case. Journal of Business Research, 10, 646–660.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Theodorou, N. C. (2017). Fix-the-fixing : Play the game 2017. Retrieved from www.slideshare.net/apolon1hermes1/match-fixing-sport-event-manipulation-in-eu-member-states.

  43. Harding, L. (2005). Two years in jail for match-fixing German referee. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/nov/18/newsstory.sport4.

  44. Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen. (2012). Beleidsplan 2013–2016. Brussel: Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Deshpande, A., Visschers, J., & Paoli, L. (2019). Training on protected reporting for professional and grassroots sports (T-PREG): Data setting and analysis on protected reporting system practices–Belgium. Leuven: Leuven Institute of Criminology.

  46. Paoli, L. (2017). The ‘walls of secrecy and silence’: Shielding doping in elite sports. In R. Staring, R. van Swaaningen, & K. van Wingerde (Eds.), Over de muren van stilzwijgen: Liber Amicorum Henk van de bunt (pp. 63–74). The Hague: Boom.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Paoli, L., & Donati, A. (2014). The sports doping market: Understanding supply and demand, and the challenges of their control. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The empirical data was collected within the framework of the project ‘Training on Protected Reporting for Professional and Grassroots Sports (T-PREG)’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, KU Leuven, H. Hooverplein 10, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Jonas Visschers, Letizia Paoli & Abhishek Deshpande

Authors
  1. Jonas Visschers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Letizia Paoli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Abhishek Deshpande
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonas Visschers.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Visschers, J., Paoli, L. & Deshpande, A. Match-fixing: Football referees’ attitudes and experiences. Crime Law Soc Change 74, 77–95 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09880-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-019-09880-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation