Match-Fixing in Polish Football: Historical Perspectives and Sociological Interpretations

Abstract

This paper addresses the massive scale of match-fixing in Polish football revealed by the corruption scandal which hit the headlines in the Polish media in 2005. Although more than a decade later the investigation is far from over, it is already clear that corruption was an everyday phenomenon ignored or purposely overlooked by bodies supervizing football competitions. The peculiarity of the Polish case stems from the fact that the match-fixing was not betting-related. The paper attempts to track the historical roots of corruption, paying particular attention to the period of communism (1945–1989) and the role of the Polish Football Association. Subsequently, several non-mutually exclusive sociological interpretations of the situation are discussed.     

Tanking,Shirking, and Running Dead: The Role of Economics and Large Data Sets in Identifying Competition Corruption and its Causes

Abstract

This paper will offer an economic history perspective on match-fixing based on economic models which explain corruption as a rational decision-making process in which a potentially corrupt athlete weighs up various probabilities. Examples will be taken from sport worldwide including American college sports, NBA basketball, British horseracing, Australian Rules football, and sumo wrestling in Japan where large databases of actual results over time have allowed possible patterns of match-fixing (as opposed to individual instances) to be identified by the use of probability theory.     

The Perils of Blowing the Whistle: Match-Fixing in Scotland and Australia, 1920s to 2015

Abstract

Two family stories shed some light on changes in the character and causes of corruption in football in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. My grandfather was a central figure in an alleged match-fixing episode in Association football in Scotland in the third decade of the twentieth century, while I was a peripheral figure in one in Australia in the last. I came across another one while researching the story of the Croatian soccer clubs in Victoria in the post-Second World War years. I also observed very closely an attempt to fix a series of matches by introducing a number of players into a team on behalf of overseas betting interests in the twenty-first century. Reflecting on these cases is a way of trying to understand how the forms and the drivers of match-fixing have changed in the twenty-first century. The three earlier episodes seem very old fashioned in the context of globalization, the commodification of sport, international gambling syndicates, and systematic corruption at the heart of the world game.     

Not All ‘the Evils of Capitalism’: Match-Fixing and the Governance of Chinese Professional Football, 1994–2016

Abstract

Match-fixing has been a key term in Chinese professional football since its inception in the early 1990s. In the light of notorious match-fixing scandals, criticism has arisen that the professionalization of football and the inflow of the free market system mirror the evils of capitalism in post-reform Chinese society. This paper, however, aims to offer an alternative perspective on the inherent governing deficiencies of Chinese professional football, to elaborate on the causes of these match-fixing incidents. By analyzing the status of each corruption-involved actor within the governance structure of Chinese professional football, the paper argues that the following factors collectively account for a large part of the historical and institutional causation of the rampant match-fixing scandals in Chinese professional football: the underplayed role of sport law; the overplayed role of Chinese Football Association officials; the ambiguous ownership and decision-making processes of the clubs; and, the powerless and unprotected role of the referees, the players, and the coaches.     

中国足球球迷文化探析

中国足球球迷现象有着极其深刻的社会文化背景。经大量文献资料考证，中国足球球迷的产生、发展以及他们所发挥的功能均受到博大精深的中国传统文化之影响，在与现代足球这一外来文化的融合中所产生的中国足球球迷文化现象。从不同角度与层面进行分析，从而揭示出中国足球球迷经历了一个由个性逐步发展到群体，从自在走向自为的演化过程。足球球迷现象不是一种孤立的社会现象，它的兴盛衰落与社会的政治、经济、文化体育背景紧紧相连。     

网络赌球犯罪研究

我国足坛一直游离于法律之外,特别是脱离了刑法的正式控制,导致中国足球被各方黑恶势力所侵蚀.赌球,已成为阻碍中国足球发展,甚至严重破坏我国体育事业全面健康发展的一颗毒瘤.当前,司法介入体育领域已是我国乃至全球的大势所趋.对足坛进行反赌打黑,不仅需要各方面的综合治理,而且需要司法的介入和刑法的规制.     

论足球反赌的刑法规制

足球赌球现象的存在不仅危及到体育竞争的公平性,更危及社会整体的管理秩序甚至殃及在校青少年.人们价值观和行为模式的错位、竞技体育采用计划经济体制下的管理模式与运行机制、刑法规制不足等是足球赌球事件频发的主要原因.扩大赌博罪的主体范围,提升赌博罪的刑罚幅度,增设非法操控比赛结果罪是足球反赌的必要刑法之举.     

Match-Fixing: Working Towards an Ethical Framework

How does match-fixing, or other unfair manipulation of matches, that involves under-performance by players, or refereeing and umpiring that prevents fair competition, be thought of in ethical terms? In this article, I outline the different forms that match-fixing can take and seek to comprehend these disparate scenarios within Kantian, Hegelian and contractualist ethical frameworks. I tentatively suggest that, by developing an ethical opposition to match-fixing in sport, we can give much greater substance to popular phrases such as ‘respect for the game’, encompassing the value of sport itself and respect for other players, fans, sponsors and organisers. Arguing that match-fixing denies recognition to these ‘others’ demonstrates how fundamentally match-fixing ‘hollows out’ sport because a fixed match is of no worth: the whole value of the game has literally been evacuated.     

Shirt sponsorship by gambling companies in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues: global reach and public health concerns

While the nature of gambling practices is contested, a strong evidence base demonstrates that gambling can become a serious disorder and have a range of detrimental effects for individuals, communities and societies. Over the last decade, football in the UK has become visibly entwined with gambling marketing. To explore this apparent trend, we tracked shirt sponsors in both the English and Scottish Premier Leagues since 1992 and found a pronounced increase in the presence of sponsorship by gambling companies. This increase occurred at the same time the Gambling Act 2005, which liberalized rules, was introduced. We argue that current levels of gambling sponsorship in UK football, and the global visibility it provides to gambling brands, is a public health concern that needs to be debated and addressed. We recommend that legislators revisit the relationship between football in the UK and the sponsorship it receives from the gambling industry.     

‘The Whole of Poland Saw It,and You Gentlemen are Blind’: Match-Fixing in Polish Football – A Case Study from 1993

Abstract

This paper focuses on one of the most famous match-fixing cases in the history of Polish football – when in 1993 the Polish Football Association decided to subtract points due to match-fixing in the last match round of the season, an action which meant that Legia Warsaw were stripped of the Polish title. The paper initially presents a brief overview of the history of match-fixing in Polish football and then moves on to an informed narrative of the 1993 case. Two primary analytical focuses are adopted: first the 1993 case study is analyzed in the light of a typology established by criminologist Declan Hill explaining why corruptors decide to fix football matches. Second societal reactions to the 1993 scandal are analyzed. The paper questions to what extent reactions to the 1993 match-fixing scandal were affected by the profound social, political, and cultural transformations of the immediate post-communist period. To do so, the sociological concept of ‘cultural trauma’ is scrutinized in the context of football match-fixing. It is argued that the 1993 scandal was a ‘trigger’ which allowed cultural trauma to emerge and that reactions to the scandal were heavily influenced by wider societal events.     

论“假球”对公共财产安全法益的侵害及其该当性

"假球"对社会的最大危害,不在于行为人收受了多少贿赂、是否参与了赌球;而在于打假球的行为严重侵害了他人的财产利益、国家形象和社会文化。因此,在评价假球时,不能只关注行为人获取财物的行为是否构成犯罪,而应更多的关注他们打假球的行为对公共财产安全法益的危害和对国家、社会利益的侵犯,及其该当性。对打假球的行为,由于观众买票在前、行为人做球在后,一般不符合诈骗罪的特征,不宜定诈骗罪;但是,它具备"以危险方法危害公共安全罪"的该当性。     

关于我国足球“假赌黑”现象的探讨——以2009年中国足坛扫赌反黑风暴事件为视角

以2009年中国足坛扫赌反黑风暴事件为视角,并结合我国足坛历年来的假赌黑事件,对我国足球假赌黑发展过程及成因进行了深入研究。结果表明：中国足球假赌黑的形成受多方面因素的影响,其不单单是足球管理体制的问题,更是社会主义市场经济发展过程中各方面因素综合作用的结果。     

足球共同体:国家、市场与社会视角下对我国足球运动发展进程的思考

在国家、市场与社会的分析框架下,将中国足球运动的发展带入现代性的构建和反思之中,就足球运动在一百多年的历史里如何与国家、市场和社会发生联系进行了探讨,从清末、民国时期,社会倒逼下的启蒙,到建国后反映国家意志,成为国家政权建设的一部分,从引入市场机制后开启竞技体育职业化改革先河,到现如今社会治理模式和机制的全新尝试,国家、市场与社会三个系统相继出场、相互影响、逐步磨合,其过程很好地反映了我国不同时期国家治理的特征和演变。在当前背景之下,于中国足球实践场域内打造国家、市场和社会之间的新型关系,形成界限清晰、良性互动的足球共同体尤为紧要。     

日本足球归化运动员的历史演进、运作逻辑与实践启示

从历史演进视角对日本足球归化运动员进行研究,将归化演进历程分为业余足球主导期、职业足球改革探索期、职业足球稳定发展期3个阶段。归化运作逻辑体现:以技术足球理念为基准,合理实施归化行为;以填补位置短板为目的,提高国家队竞技水平;以保障职业角色转换为举措,营造良性发展氛围;以规避资源挤占矛盾为导向,逐步改变归化价值取向。启示:我国应厘清主体责任和发展理念,做好归化顶层设计;正视国家归化需求,消解文化融合与社会认同障碍;建立长效服务机制,扩大归化行为示范效应;把握足球运动规律,构建可持续发展模式。     

中、日、韩三国足球发展格局的研究

中、日、韩三国在发展足球运动进程中 ,各自积累了许多经验和教训 ,笔者从其各国的足球历史演变过程中 ,探讨东亚足球运动发展格局 ,比较中、日、韩三国在足球运动职业化进程中 ,各自存在的优势与不足 ,为中国足球职业化的健康发展提供参考     

中国足球后备人才培养的历史回顾与反思

通过对中国足球后备人才培养的历史回顾与现状分析,发现中国在足球后备人才培养方面与世界足球强国相比严重缺乏力度。后备人才不仅人数少,而且质量差。中国足球要想得到较快与较大的发展,加强足球后边备人才培养工作显得尤为重要。     

从中国传统文化的视阈看传统文化与足球风格的融合

为了深入了解中国传统文化与足球风格的关系,探讨二者结合点,采用文献资料法、逻辑分析法等研究方法,在分析足球风格与传统文化关联性的基础上,列举了巴西、德国、日本3国传统文化与足球风格融合的成功案例,并提出了中国传统文化中的"中庸之道"与攻守平衡、"善守御"与快速反击打法、"柔弱胜刚强"与控制球打法3方面的融合。     

关于我国足球“假赌黑”现象的思考

采用文献资料、逻辑推理等方法,对我国足球＂假赌黑＂发展历程及成因进行了研究,并据此提出针对性建议。     

职业足球比赛发展特征的历史审视

主要采用文献资料和访谈调查等方法从宏观层面和历史发展的角度对职业足球比赛发展特征进行研究。认为职业足球比赛是由职业球员代表其所属职业足球俱乐部参加的以争取比赛优胜为主要目的的正式商业性比赛。职业足球比赛经历了国内和国际两个发展阶段,形成国内、洲际和世界比赛三个层次。职业足球比赛发展特征主要体现在:形成了以各国联赛为核心和基础的全球化职业足球竞赛体系;主客场赛制凸显主场优势和客场劣势效应;外籍教练员和球员广泛参与并发挥关键作用;商业化使职业足球比赛繁荣的同时也使其面临着危机。