'I've been offered money to throw Cup Match'

Lionel Cann says match-fixing problems are not limited to Pakistan — they affect cricket all over the globe.

The Bermuda international said in his column today he turned down money to throw Cup Match four years ago.

Cann added that cricket isn’t the only local sport that is susceptible to gamblers bribing players to throw games.

He said: “I’ve been offered money to throw league games and Cup Match. Not to the kind of money the Pakistan players were offered, just a few hundred dollars.

“I’ve been offered $700 to not make runs to help lose the game. It’s on a much smaller scale here in Bermuda and I am sure I am not the only one. Other players have been offered a bit of money here and there to sway games.

“People are betting on football, cricket and other sports here…you can bet on anything in Bermuda. It’s just them giving players a call or stopping by and slipping them money to throw something.

“Four years ago, when I was captain of St. George’s for Cup Match the first time, I was offered money. I declined because it’s not worth my reputation.

“I’ve heard of guys in Premier Division football who have been offered money not to score goals or goalkeepers being offered money to let in goals.

“But how is anybody going to prove that? It’s just one person’s word against another’s. There’s no tape recordings or secret film.”