Indonesian badminton players banned for life over match-fixing

The players and a representative of a sports brand were found guilty of match-fixing by the Badminton World Federation.

Malaysia.- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has banned three Indonesian professional badminton players for life after finding them guilty of match-fixing.

Another individual, a representative of a sports brand, was also banned.

The case began in early 2020 when eight Indonesian players who competing in low-level international competitions were suspended due to suspicions of match-fixing.

Information from a whistleblower prompted an investigation from the BWF Integrity Unit.

The investigation determined that all of the players breached BWF regulations on match-fixing, match manipulation and/or betting on badminton.

Three have been banned for life while the other five were suspended for between 6 to 12 years and fined between US$3,000 and $12,000 each.

The Kuala Lumpur-based organisation said: “Three of [the players] were found to have coordinated and organised others into manipulating match play for money.”

The athletes have the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days.

Meanwhile, Malaysian citizen, Ze-Young Lim, representative of a brand that sponsors badminton players, was also banned after a years-long investigation by BWF Integrity Unit.

The BWF said: “The accused was found to have breached the BWF Integrity Regulations (Codes of Conduct for Betting Wagering and Irregular Match Results 2012, 2016 and 2017) by an Independent Hearing Panel.”

It was found that he had approached international badminton athletes and offered money to manipulate matches, bet on multiple badminton matches including matches involving players that were sponsored by his employer and had “abused his position of influence as an executive in a sporting brand in an attempt to corrupt international badminton and enrich himself”.