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| Murray says match-fixing is common problem |
09/10/2007 |
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Andy
Murray says temptation for players to throw matches is too strong as
authorities set zero-tolerance agenda
Britain's No1 Andy
Murray has stated that he believes players on the circuit are involved in
match-fixing. Murray told BBC Radio Five Live that the financial incentives to
cheat are too tempting for some players in the lower reaches of the
professional game. "It doesn't really surprise me," he said. "Some guys have to
come to tournaments like this every single week and the first-round loser's
cheque is only €2,500 (£1,700) and they have got to pay their air
fares and it's only a 10 or 12-year career so you have to make all your money
while you're still paying."
Murray
also raised concerns about the likelihood of the tennis authorities being able
to single out those players who are guilty of throwing matches, explaining:
"it's difficult to prove if someone has tanked a match or not tried because
they can try their best until the last couple of games of each set and then
make some mistakes, a couple of double faults, and that's it."
Murray's
decision to speak out against such goings-on has not been met with great
enthusiasm by the former British tennis player Andrew Castle, who criticised
Murray for going public with his claims. "I think he has been unguarded and
naïve. If he has these claims he should take them to the ATP officials.
Tennis has been thrown into something that doesn't make the game look good."
Another former British player,
Barry Cowan, said that he was also aware of low-paid players being vulnerable
to match-fixers. "I know it does go on, that players are approached. There have
been cases where people have approached players and said 'I'll give you
x-amount of money to throw this match'. It goes on at ATP and Challenger level
where if you lose in the first round you only get $225."
The former
British Davis Cup player Arvind Parmar has also claimed he was offered money to
lose a match at a low-key ATP Challenger event and Gilles Elseneer claimed he
was offered €100,000 (£69,000) to lose his first-round match at
Wimbledon in 2005 while fellow Belgian Dick Norman revealed he has been asked
to provide in-depth information on other players' fitness.
The ATP have
a zero tolerance policy towards players who get involved in gambling, and are
currently investigating betting patterns during a match in Poland between
Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello. Davydenko's price drifted out
despite him winning the first set, and he later pulled out of the match through
injury. Davydenko denies any wrongdoing.
The four leading organisations
in professional tennis - the ATP Tour, the Grand Slam Committee, the
International Tennis Federation and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour - have agreed to
set up an international unit to fight against corruption in the sport. Etienne
de Villiers, the executive chairman of the ATP, said: "We see the establishment
of a dedicated global 'Tennis Integrity Unit' as a key priority for the sport
and plans to create one are well advanced."
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