KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should legalise football betting to stamp out match-fixing, Perak coach Steve Darby said yesterday following allegations of match fixing in the Super League.

Darby said that profits from betting could be used to improve the game in the country.

“We cannot stop betting. Legalised betting will help (prevent match-fixing). The money can be ploughed back to provide better training facilities for the players,” he said.

Englishman Darby added that he had written to the FA of Malaysia (FAM) three times to warn about possible match-fixing in the league after his players were approached.

Betting on football is illegal in Malaysia but neighbouring Singapore has legalised it.

Darby said that it was difficult to estimate how widespread match-fixing was in Malaysian football.

The scandal is the latest blow to Malaysian football, which has struggled to recover from a 1994 investigation that saw 126 players questioned.

In that debacle, 21 players and coaches were sacked while 58 players were suspended by FAM for corruption.

Meanwhile, national chief coach B. Satiananthan Nair said that it was unlikely football betting would be legalised in predominantly Malaysia.

“Legalising betting will not stop match-fixing. Educating players to stay out of corruption is the only way out,” he said.

Satiananthan said that Singapore was an example of where legalised betting had not eliminated graft in football.

Earlier this year, seven players from S-League side Liaoning Guangyuan were charged with alleged match-fixing.

Article source:

http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/4/28/sports/21084154&sec=sports