Rogge warns cricket scandal shows dangers of illegal betting

By Duncan Mackay in Brussels
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

September 5 - The cricket corruption scandal involving Pakistan demonstrates what a threat illegal betting is to the integrity of sport, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge has warned here.

The News of the World today published further allegations linked to the scandal, including claims by a teammate of the suspended Pakistani players which claimed "almost every match" was affected.

The newspaper quoted opening batsman Yasir Hameed saying Pakistan players were constantly manipulating matches.

"They were doing it in almost every match," Yasir reportedly told an undercover journalist from the same newspaper which broke the scandal.

"It makes me angry because I'm playing my best and they are trying to lose."

It followed claims published by the News of the World last Sunday (August 29) that Pakistani players deliberately bowled no-balls at specific points during the fourth Test against England at Lord's.

Three players facing claims they were involved in the alleged scam, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, could be banned for life if they are found guilty.

Rogge has been warning for several years now that illegal betting poses as big a threat to sport as doping.

"There are many [betting sites] in Asia that come up on the net, then disappear, that transform themselves," said Rogge, addressing a group of journalists here inspecting Belgium's and Netherlands' bid to host the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"The identity of these websites who are not regulated by law is a very difficult one.

"The website is unknown and the action on the match is very veiled.

"It could be a double-fault in tennis, a no-ball in cricket, a first corner in football."

The IOC set-up a new system last year to watch for corrupt betting linked to Olympics competitions and it was used for the first time in Vancouver.

A new Swiss company, International Sports Monitoring, has been established to oversee the system, which will also be used for the London 2012 Games.

"I am afraid we are in the situation we were with doping before, where people knew there was some doping but could not quantify it," said Rogge.

"Today, we can quantify doping.

"We need to quantify illegal betting."

Last week Sir Craig Reedie, a member of the IOC's Executive Board, had claimed that the current betting scandal would affect hopes of Twenty20 cricket launching a successful bid to win a place on the Olympic programme for the 2020 Games, for which New Delhi may bid.

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