BIG DEAL…Gambling and sport go hand-in-hand for a lot of people

I WOULDN’T touch that story with a bargepole. That was my immediate reaction when I was informed about the alleged ‘match fixing scandal’ that was doing the rounds on an internet chatroom last week.

Aside from the libellous minefield that emanates from any story that comes from a nameless internet ‘source’, I also have to ask myself just how many players would have to be involved in match-fixing to actually determine the result of a hurling game.

There’s been plenty of research on soccer match-fixing and that informs us that a minimum of three players need to be involved to have any chance of exerting an influence on the outcome of a game, but more regularly it’s four or five players involved.

Journalist Declan Hill is one of the world’s foremost experts on match-fixing and corruption in sports. He tells us that gathering four or five players together to throw a soccer match can and is done, and is also difficult to identify.

‘You have six players running around trying as hard as they can; and you have five players pretending to run around trying as hard as they can. This way an outsider finds it extraordinarily difficult to figure out what is going on. All they see is 11 players who may or may not be making mistakes honestly. All of whom are swearing and cursing the moment anything goes wrong. Who is on the fix or even if there is a fix occurring is very difficult to tell.’

So how many to fix a hurling match then? Seven or eight maybe? Looking through the starting line-up of the team at the centre of the allegations and knowing the majority of them at some level, it further reinforced my immediate thought that the rumours were total and utter nonsense.

I’ve been burnt before when running a story from a similar ‘source’ in the past. Many years ago as I rookie reporter with the North Belfast News, I took a juicy anonymous tip, phoned to the sportsdesk (it was long before internet fora) and ran a back page story.

As I arrived to work the following morning, I was met with a number of angry clubmen who were ready to exact their own interpretation on commensurate penalties for abuse of libel laws on yours truly.
However there are obviously journalists around with much better contacts than me because the story appeared on the front page of a local paper this week. On the back of its publication, my journalistic nosiness got the better of me and, just to satisfy my own interest, I began to check a few things out.

First up, I contacted three major bookmakers, including the two main online GAA bookmakers. One of them was mentioned by name in an internet forum as having taken bets on the game. The response from their press office was straight and to the point: ‘I spoke with the traders and there was absolutely no business of concern on this game. We laid (county) but most of the business was small stakes and the big bets we had were from regular shop customers. There were no bets of any note placed from the county in question’.

My query had requested information on in-shop and online trading, especially any online activity from devices with an IP address in the county in question.

The responses from the other two leading bookmakers were equally unequivocal – there was ‘nothing irregular whatsoever’ in relation to the betting pattern on the game. That was the response from both.

I also spoke to a couple of players. Neither had a clue where the rumours came from. The alleged ‘celebrations’ in the losing changing room certainly didn’t happen in front of either player that I spoke to, and further to that, they questioned which of the 20 players who took to the field last week were supposedly not trying.

I also spoke to the county PRO who confirmed that no player had brought forward any concerns to any management or county board member and encouraged those who had any information to come forward so that it could be acted on. But as things stand, there is no investigation because there’s nothing to investigate.

Reports of a meeting to discuss the matter are also wide of the mark. Yes, there is a meeting this evening, but that is a scheduled review meeting that will focus on league performance. The matter serves as a totally unnecessary, unwanted and unwelcome sideshow for the squad and manager in question. Regardless of how far off the mark rumours are, they are being discussed throughout the county and can only seep into the consciousness of the players.

After a not-too-successful league, it’s not what any manager or squad needs. Best case scenario is that it galvanises the squad as they face into the championship. Knowing that there’s an individual or individuals out there who are prepared to tarnish an entire squad of players perhaps isn’t the healthiest motivation – but lifting silverware later in the summer is the best possible response.