The extent of match fixing in German soccer Results of an online - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The extent of match fixing in German soccer

• Dr. Werner Pitsch

Saarland University Institute for Sport Sciences Results of an online survey with honest answers to embarrassing questions

04.10.2011 Match Fixing in German soccer 2

Match Fixing as a subject

• f scientific research
• Declan Hill (2008): Partly social scientific but mostly

journalistic attempt

• Boeri & Severgini (2008): Economic model of the

Italian Serie A-corruption scnadal in the framework of the economic theory of curruption.

• Economic analysis of law: Highly abstract analyses of

economic determinants and effects of corruption

• Social sciences?

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Problem: Description of the subject “match fixing”

• 1. At which rate does match fixing occur in (grassroot)

soccer in Germany?

• 2. At which rate are soccer players involved in match

fixing?

• 3. At which rate are trainers and coaches involved in

match fixing?

• 4. At which rate are referees involved in match fixing?

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Methode: Randomized Response Technique

Question: Were you ever personally involved in match fixing? yes yes yes no Honest player

1- ()

match fixer



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Experience the Randomized Response Technique

• 1. For scientists: Have you ever cited an article or a

book without having read the article or the book thoroughly?

• 2. For politicians: Have you ever made an election

promise which you knew you wouldn‟t make true?

• 3. For journalists: Have you ever misquoted

somebody in an article? If you were born in April, May or July, please answer “yes” no matter if you have ever behaved in that way. If you were born in a different month please answer honestly.

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The sample

Sampling strategies: – First attempt: With support from the DFB – failed. – Second attempt: With support from organizers of internet forums and newsgroups – failed. – Third attempt: By an E-Mail pyramid system – succeeded only by using a large number of „seed persons“ Resulting sample: 277 records, – 19.1 % female (over-representation) from different German leagues. – 70.6 % played soccer in 2010/2011 season. – 91.7 % played soccer for more than one season

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The sample

Mean age: 26.0 years old, SD 6.5 Distrubution by age categories (played in 10/11) Youth/Junior level 7.2 % Senior level 78.5 % Veteran level 11.8 % Distribution by performance/leagues (played in 10/11) Subdistrict level 48.2 % District level 29.2 % County level 13.8 % Sub-national level 4.6 % National/higher level 1.5 %

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The questions

Match fixing means … – ... to request single or multiple players to act unsportsmanlike insofar as a preliminarily fixed result (e.g. defeat) will occur. – The request is connected with benefits (e.g. invitations, one or more cases of beer, money, sport equipment) for those players who comply with the request.

• 1. Have you ever experienced …?
• 2. Have you ever been personally involved …?
• 3. Did you experience … in the 2010/2011 season?
• 4. Were you personally involved … in the 2010/2011

season?

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honest 'yes'

22.7 14.8 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 Have you ever experienced …? Did you experience … in the 2010/2011 season?

honest 'yes'

Results

04.10.2011 Match Fixing in German soccer 10 22.7 14.8 44.2 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 Have you ever experienced …? Did you experience … in the 2010/2011 season?

cheaters honest 'yes'

Results

04.10.2011 Match Fixing in German soccer 11 22.7 14.8 44.2 41 77.3 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 Have you ever experienced …? Did you experience … in the 2010/2011 season?

honest 'no' cheaters honest 'yes'

Results

04.10.2011 Match Fixing in German soccer 12 14.8 1.4 18.5 37.6 80.1 47.6 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 Were you ever involved …? Were you involved … in the 2010/2011 season?

honest 'no' cheaters honest 'yes'

Results

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Implications

• Match fixing isn„t only a top league-phenomenon in

German soccer.

• A considerable number of players in Germany is

involved in match fixing. This doesn‘t restrain people from playing soccer!

• Match fixing in German soccer doesn„t always mean

wilful deceit or unjust enrichment in legal terms.

• The currency in match fixing is not always € or US$

but it is often „a case of beer“.

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Questions worth discussing

• Can we implement measures against match fixing and

corruption without threatening grassroot sports?

• Who will profit from the fight against match fixing and

corruption?

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References

Hill, D. (2008) The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. Boeri, T, Severgini, B. (2008) The Italian Job: Match Rigging, Career Concerns and Media Concentration in Serie A (IZA Discussion Paper Series 3745). Bonn: Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit. Clark, S. J., Desharnais, R. A. (1998). Honest Answers to Embarrassing Questions: Detecting Cheating in the Randomized Response Model. Psychological Methods, 3, 160-168. Coutts, E., & Jann, B. (2008). Sensitive Questions in Online Surveys: Experimental Results for the Randomized Response Technique (RRT) and the Unmatched Count Technique (UCT) [Electronic Version]. ETH Zurich Sociology Working Paper, 3. Retrieved 17.07.2009 from http://ideas.repec.org/p/ets/wpaper/3.html Esser, H. (1986). Können Befragte lügen? Zum Konzept des "wahren Wertes" im Rahmen der handlungstheoretischen Erklärung von Situationseinflüssen bei der Befragung. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 38, 314-336. Lensvelt-Mulders, G. J. L. M., Hox, J. J., van der Heijden, P. G. M., & Maas, C. J. M. (2005). Meta-Analysis of Randomized Response Research. Thirty-Five Years of Validation. Sociological Methods and Research, 33, 315-348. Locander, W., Sudman, S., Badburn, N. (1976). An Investigation of Interview Method, Threat and Response Distortion. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1976, 269-275. Pitsch, W., Emrich, E., & Klein, M. (2005). Zur Häufigkeit des Dopings im Leistungssport. Ergebnisse eines www-Surveys. Leipziger Sportwissenschaftliche Beiträge, 46(2), 63-77. Pitsch, W., Emrich, E., & Klein, M. (2007). Doping in elite sports in Germany: results of a www survey. European Journal of Sport and Society, 4(2), 89-102. Shimizu, I. M., Bonham, G. S. (1978). Randomized Response Techniques in a National Survey. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 73, 35-39. Tracy, P. E., Fox, J. A. (1981). The Validity of Randomized Response for Sensitive Measurements. American Sociological Review, 46, 187-200.