The Asahi Shimbun – With the sumo world being rocked a few years ago by a bout-throwing scandal, Japanese soccer officials are trying to maintain the clean image of their sport by heading off any attempts by gamblers to fix J.League games or contests involving Japanese referees.
In November, three Japanese were chosen to referee the final of an association cup tournament in Thailand on the basis of having been given high marks for fairness.
On the night before the match, the three had completed their training session and were in transit between a shopping center and the hotel they were staying at when the driver whispered to them, “We are prepared to make an extra payment to you.”
The three were caught off guard by the sudden offer, but after exchanging glances, they immediately refused the bribe.
Although no specific monetary figure was given, they were asked to blow their whistles for calls favoring the team named by the driver.
A source with the Japan Football Association said, “If the referees did not speak English and were less experienced, they might not have been able to understand the situation and might have said ‘yes.’ ”
The team mentioned by the man lost the match. Because the individual indicated he had visited Japan, JFA officials investigated the matter along with J.League officials. They learned the man was someone with the Thai league.
Although a report was submitted with FIFA, the JFA has not heard back from the international soccer governing body.
J.League matches are not only subject to the soccer lottery “toto” in Japan, but are also handled by bookmakers in Europe and Asia. However, league officials have only begun talking measures against match-fixing from 2011.
A monitoring structure was put in place after a contract was signed with Early Warning System GmbH, a company founded by FIFA.
