[Closed] Do you ever wonder if all major sport is fixed?

I think for the team sports its sufficiently difficult to influence the results in a large enough competition to make it completely fixed.

Drug cheating is endemic in most top flight sports though IMO.

There's a greater risk of fixing in a team game in smaller competition (say Africas cup) or where it's not a team sport, i.e. Snooker.

There's also a greater risk of fixing where the sport is heavily followed in corrupt betting markets, like Cricket and Snooker in the subcontinent and far east respectively.

So for a clean game, Stoner's top tip, is watch the big team sporting events like the Premiership footie or Rugby and avoid the Kuala Lumpur Snooker championship.

Thankfully the sports I follow have no tradition of cheating
God bless football and cricket I say
Avoid Rugby - remember the blood thing and especially the Union version as posh folk cheat more.

I often wonder if some cup draws are fixed

There's a case in Scotland at the moment..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/9294234.stm

1/"Unusual" betting activity on the chances of a player being sent off.
2/Player is sent off for dissent.....

With Onions point I suppose it comes to the question of whether you can still call it fixed when it's just one guy taking a bung to swing spot prices. It certainly doesnt indicate a fixed result but it can effect how the game develops.

I often wonder if some cup draws are fixed

Same here, yesterdays Champions League draw being a case in point!

God bless football and cricket I say

It was actually the cricket that got me thinking about this! Look at the Ashes 3rd Test, complete form reversal; is it just coincidence that if England won then the next 2 Tests (which will be the biggest money spinners for Cricket Australia I would've thought?) would've been dead rubbers?

Paranoid? me? 😕

Renault and the Singapore GP springs to mind. Although I think that comes under cheating rather than fixed...

I've always suspected Horse Racing to be fixed pretty much.

But it's not betting activity that I'm talking about... sure that goes on in all sports. It's more the question of whether the whole shebang is just a great big contrived show, like WWF but with less openness!

There's a case in Scotland at the moment..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/9294234.stm

1/"Unusual" betting activity on the chances of a player being sent off.
2/Player is sent off for dissent.....

He called the ref a cheating bar steward or similar. Mate who is a grade z ref says its a guaranteed way of getting yersel sent off.

WWF what has wildlife got to do with it? - remmeber they sued them for the naming rights and surprsingly lost no idea what it is called now but it is not WWF

I doubt any sport is that corrupt- boxing [or other 1 on 1 competition where you can milk the rivalry] would be the only ones where hype would make more pay so it seems unlikely on a sport wide scale

Does X-Factor count as a sport?

Does X-Factor count as a sport?

Answer = No.

However if there is anyone armed with a hunting rifle that has the contenders or judges within range then answer = Yes!

I often wonder if some cup draws are fixed

when you have such insanely large amounts of money being bet/sponsored/tv rights etc on sports on a global scale then its certain that every sport is crooked at some level

I've always suspected Horse Racing to be fixed pretty much.

Difficult to do other than nobble favourites & then bet on it not winning

The most used method to try to get a winner that isn't expected to prevail is to hold it well back for a few races & then let it rip, still not guaranteed though - by a long way
Plus it needs to be the right horse, ie capable of winning & capable of being held back without it being obvious

Difficult to fix the exact outcome of the race, easier to manipulate some betting opportunities within the race itself

especially now with bookies like BetFair

Thankfully the sports I follow have no tradition of cheating
God bless football and cricket I say

a ha ha hah ahah ha aha

I give you Serie A and the rich premiership clubs buying as many goalies as they can to loan them out on the condition that the loaned can't play in the fixture against the owning club

cricket? the ****stani bowlers? hanse Cronje? english bowlers picking at the seam and dirt in the pocket

I think most sports either have some participants throwing a match or not performing, or the richest teams/organisations using their financial clout to sway things in their favour

God bless football and cricket I say

bloodgate aside

I think that there was a massive deal made out of it because it's so rare to see such cheating in rugby.

I think Junkyard was trolling to be honest. He doesn't normally talk such bollocks.

There'd be no point in taking drugs if it was fixed. So... as drugs are pretty much essential in all sports I'd assume most sports aren't fixed.

Boxing is notorious for fixing. I was a guest of a promoter some years ago in South London and lets just say I had an amazing run of luck in all 6 bouts 8)

Does it really matter, though? To my mind, at least, professional sport is entertainment, in the same category as live music, theatre, tourism etc. As long as it's entertaining does it matter who wins?

DD thanks for the praise - thought it was so obvious it did not deserve a wink tbh

Does X-Factor count as a sport?

Well it's a jolly good thing that cycling is a clean sport, I can tell you.