Australian player convicted for match-fixing

Australian rugby league player Ryan Tandy was fined A$4,000 ($3,843) on Thursday for his part in a match-fixing scandal after a Sydney court found he had attempted to manipulate a scoring play during a National Rugby League game.

The 30-year-old former Canterbury prop was sacked by his club after becoming embroiled in a spot-fixing probe sparked by a betting plunge on the first scoring play of the Bulldogs’

match against the North Queensland Cowboys in August last year.

Tandy gave away a penalty in front of the posts early in the match after a number of large bets had been placed on the first points of the game coming from a penalty kick.

The Cowboys elected to take a tap kick instead of a shot at goal, but a police investigation was launched after a local gaming agency reported the betting plunge.

Tandy pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to manipulate the match to dishonestly obtain a “financial advantage” of A$113,245 from a local gaming company for a prominent player agent and a former player among others.

Although he had shown a “sophisticated level of criminality” in his actions, the court took into account his lack of a prior criminal record, local media quoted magistrate Janet Wahlquist as saying.

“He is the only player the evidence points to,” the magistrate said.

Tandy’s lawyer said the player, who faces a life ban from the NRL and has been handed a 12-month good behaviour bond, would appeal.

“Ryan Tandy is not a registered player with the NRL and no registration would be entertained at this point or until all matters are resolved,” NRL chief David Gallop said in a statement.

Despite its huge popularity in Australia, the NRL has lurched from crisis to crisis in recent years, rocked by scandals ranging from player misbehaviour off the field to illegal player payments.

League administrators stripped Melbourne Storm of two of its premiership titles and fined the club A$1.7 million last year after the club was found to have committed systematic salary cap breaches.

The match-fixing scandal has erupted amid a push by Australia sports officials for federal legislation to combat gambling-related corruption in sports.

There have been relatively few cases of corruption in Australian sport, but sports-related gambling, worth $A2.8 billion in 2008, is a major growth industry.