South Korea bans 4 volleyball players for life

SEOUL – South Korea’s volleyball association announced the banning of four players for life yesterday over their alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal.

Three players from the KEPCO45 team and one from the military club Sangmu allegedly took bribes in return for trying to rig the results of games in recent years, an official at the Korean Volleyball Federation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.Prosecutors investigating the scandal recently told the federation the players confessed to their wrongdoing during questioning, the official said.The players will be banned from appearing in games and assuming official volleyball-related jobs, he said. Another player with the Samsung Bluefangs club, who has voluntarily admitted to his involvement in the scandal, was temporarily suspended until a prosecution probe is finalized, the official said.The Defence Ministry said Monday it has decided to bar its Sangmu team from taking part in the ongoing professional volleyball league.At least seven people, including two retired KEPCO45 players and a gambling broker, have been investigated over the scandal and five of them have been arrested by prosecutors, according to the official and a prosecution office at the southeastern city of Daegu.The broker allegedly placed bets on an illegal online gambling website after the results were arranged, officials at the Daegu prosecution office said. It’s not known whether all the players implicated in the scandal received bribes from the same broker. Last year, South Korea’s football league was hit by a massive match-fixing scandal, with nearly 80 players and brokers convicted. -Nampa-AP

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