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Corruption in sport: researchers seek positive outcomes from real scandals to help ‘restore trust’ among fans

  • University of Canberra’s Catherine Ordway and her team delve into well-known cases and identify how they may have helped reform the system
  • Authors also critical of authorities they deem have not gone far enough, as in the case of Nigerian coach accused of accepting money to influence team selection

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A new book delving into corruption in sports discusses how cycling’s Team Sky, now called Team Ineos, can help to restore trust among fans. Photo: Reuters

In 2015, former NHL player Vladimir Ruzicka resigned as coach of the Czech Republic ice hockey team after a “cash for selection” scandal in which he was accused of demanding money from parents when in charge of leading club side Slavia Prague.

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In a 2018 case in Nigeria, Salisu Yusuf, a respected assistant coach of the national football team, was caught accepting a US$1,000 payment from undercover journalists posing as agents to ensure two players would be picked for the Super Eagles B team. Both men denied fraud.

The Czech case triggered immediate reform that led to the establishment of a whistle-blowing programme to protect people who want to expose corruption in sport. Decorated coach Ruzicka was convicted in 2016 and ordered to pay a US$16,000 fine or spend 16 months in jail. Yusuf was fined US$5,000, banned for one year and in 2019 returned to the national team.

Both cases are part of a new research book that details known examples of corruption in sport over the past few years, with most incidents resulting in a positive outcome in terms of how authorities implemented policy reforms and set up systems to combat fraud.

Catherine Ordway, editor of Restoring Trust in Sport: Corruption Cases and Solutions, said the idea came about after she was asked by her PhD supervisor to write a book on corruption case studies in sport for teaching purposes.

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