Study: Nearly 35 Percent of Athletes Believe Matches Fixed
It surveyed more than 600 athletes in six European countries, including Austria, Cyprus, France, Great Britain, Greece and Ireland, about match-fixing and whether they have experienced it within their sport.
Athletes surveyed competed across 13 different sports, including athletics, badminton, basketball, football, gymnastics, handball, martial arts, rugby union, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and weightlifting.
Preliminary results from the survey showed 20 percent of the athletes were aware of a fixed game in their sport during the past 12 months, while 12.6 percent reported that they were aware that they had been involved in a manipulated game.
In addition, early results also revealed that 15 percent of the athletes reported that they were approached within the last 12 months to fix a match with the majority manipulating a game due to financial difficulties or “to make easy money”.
Results from the forthcoming report, which is due to be released in full later this year, also highlighted the lack of trust shown by athletes towards the governing bodies, preventing them from reporting information about an incident of manipulation.