‘I Helped Honduras and Nigeria Reach 2010 World Cup’ Claims Match-Fixer
Match fixing, and other manipulations of fair play, is a problem in sports in general.
While it usually wallows in the more accessible macrocosms of minor sports teams and leagues, it also, at times affects larger organizations . The world cup is unique in that it is a large confluence of professional athletes with large salaries, and even larger egos; moneyed media interests; and endorsements. It is also the crossroads of the wealthy first world, and the less affluent rest:
And this means those less affluent nations, and by extension, their teams, will both, more likely to be targeted by international match fixing interests, and more likely to engage in it:
Wilson Raj Perumal, a self-confessed match-fixer who was part of a syndicate that has been placed at the heart of a sophisticated network responsible for fixing hundreds of matches around the world, claims in a new book that he assisted Honduras and Nigeria in reaching the World Cup through his activities.
Perumal had already admitted to being part of a syndicate that fixed a string of international friendlies by bribing corrupt officials and compromised players, but this is the first time that he has claimed to have influenced World Cup qualifiers.
Perumal was arrested in Helsinki in 2011 and sentenced to two years in prison. He agreed to co-operate with the authorities and implicated his fellow Singaporean Dan Tan, alleged to be at the heart of the fixing and gambling ring that placed bets on illicit Chinese markets.
While the complex nexus of sports, money, and gambling suggest Perumal should be taken seriously - he is a liar and a criminal himself - grain of salt in regards to anything he claims without express proof.
I would also be wary that his claims are in fact true. It is much easier to snare a Nigeria, than a Lionel Messi, with his ego and wealth considered:
Perumal also alleges that during a trip to England in 1995 he tried unsuccessfully to bribe two Premier League goalkeepers. Perumal was rearrested last week in Finland on an international arrest warrant. The arrest is believed to relate to an earlier conviction in Singapore, rather than to match-fixing.
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