Kuala Lumpur: Three Indonesian players who competed in lower-level international tournaments and a Malaysian citizen were banned for life as part of the investigation of two cases for manipulating matches on international badminton.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Friday that a total of 8 Indonesian players were involved in match-fixing, match manipulation, and betting.
“Eight Indonesian players who knew each other, and competed in lower-level international competitions mostly in Asia up until 2019, breached BWF Integrity Regulations related to match-fixing, match manipulation and/or betting on badminton,” said BWF in a statement.
“Three of them were found to have coordinated and organised others into being complicit in the behaviour and have been suspended from all badminton related activities for life.”
“A report by a whistleblower allowed the BWF Integrity Unit to start an investigation and to interview a number of players regarding the matter. All eight players were provisionally suspended in January 2020 until a determination could be made through a hearing process.”
“Five others were suspended for between six to 12 years and fined between USD 3,000 and USD 12,000 each.”
BWF also stated that it had been investigating the Malaysian citizen for years before making that decision.
“The IHP found that the individual had approached international badminton athletes and offered money to manipulate matches, bet on multiple badminton matches including matches involving players that were sponsored by the individuals’ employer and had ‘abused his position of influence as an executive in a sporting brand in an attempt to corrupt international badminton and enrich himself’,” said BWF.
“Due to the nature of the breaches and this person’s access to and influence over players his company sponsored, the IHP suspended the individual from badminton-related activities for life.”
BWF did not name the individuals involved in these investigations but said they have the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days.
