Twelve people, including nine professional football players, were arrested by ICAC for allegedly offering and accepting bribes for match-fixing in the local Premier League and also the Second Division. It is alleged that the coaches gave secret signals to the football players to manipulate the match results - such as the number of goals or corner kicks, the match scores, etc - while placing bets through their associates and profiting from illegal gambling. It was learned that the illegal bets placed by individual arrestees in one season amounted to over HK$1 million. Over 20 premises and residences of the arrestees were raided, while more than 20 individuals including several football players were also interviewed during the investigation. It also reviews corruption-prone areas of the Football Association to further enhance the integrity management and corruption prevention capabilities of the football sector.
