Korea Football Association
South Korean soccer officials have suspended the K-League Cup competition as part of a wide ranging changes being introduced to avoid a repeat of last year’s match-fixing scandal.
The authorities treaded into the scandal by threatening harsh crackdowns on illegal sports gambling and corruption. The K-League moved quickly to repair the game’s battered image. K-League Commissioner Chung Mong-kyu told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency on Monday(27 February 2012) that they have redoubled their efforts to ensure fair and transparent refereeing of the game.
South Korean soccer’s image was damaged after the arrest of nearly 50 players on the charges of match-fixing. At one time the government was considering shutting down of K-League completely showing its zero tolerance to match-fixing.
Chung also said the K-League would bring in a split system this year, dividing the 16 clubs into two groups of eight based on their records after 30 matches. They will then play seven more games, once against each other, with the worst two clubs in the lower half relegated to the second division in 2013. This new format will boost the number of regular season matches teams play from 30 to 44 and is expected to make the teams more competitive and the games more interesting to watch.
After allegations began to spill over into professional baseball and volleyball, South Korea’s government decided to take stern action on match-fixing.
