Tim Cheung (@TimCheung)

https://www.facebook.com/ChinaCreepingAuthoritarianism/posts/pfbid0UXoipUor2X4AmWmUeADQQPkAz8hvUzLDh5QWo83gkz7vYH3nBv7CSJJMkJTmPiful #Queensland Police have been handed a covert recording in which it is alleged a representative of a #Chinese investment group asks a player at an #NPL club to engage in match-fixing – and even provides instructions on how he could manipulate a game without being caught. The audio file has been submitted to Football Australia, #Football Queensland and police as investigations continue into a suspected failed betting scheme at Gold Coast United, the former A-League club previously owned by billionaire Clive Palmer which now participates in the Queensland NPL, the state’s top men’s division. This masthead revealed last week that a match between third-placed Gold Coast United and second-placed rivals Moreton City Excelsior had been called off just hours before it was to begin, as football authorities learnt of a suspected plot to lure players into a match-fixing operation. Numerous sources with knowledge of what took place, who spoke to this masthead on the condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to speak on the record, say the scheme was believed to have been hatched by representatives of a Chinese company that had agreed to take over the club...They are suspected to have approached one player earlier in the season about being involved – and that player not only blew the whistle, but secured vital evidence. This masthead has chosen not to name the player...The player was offered money to manipulate the scoreline of a match, rather than the result...The Chinese company later signalled its intention to move certain key players out of the club and bring in its own signings once the transfer window opened, which surprised the team given the importance of some of those players, and further raised the approached player’s suspicion that the representative he had spoken to would come back and try again. The representative sought another meeting with the player about engaging in match-fixing for their match against Moreton City Excelsior on June 25, by which stage the new players would be available. This time, the player secretly used his phone to record the conversation...the player was told how much he would be paid for taking part, and that the scheme would not be discussed before the match but rather that signals would be used during the match to let him know when he had to act. 'We’ll show you how to do it', the player was told, according to sources. The player also took detailed notes about who he had met and where during this period, which has assisted police in their investigation...Gold Coast United published a statement last week, acknowledging that investigations were ongoing, that the club was co-operating with authorities, and that it was unable to comment as a result...The pending takeover of the club by the Chinese company has since fallen through, and its representatives have not been sighted by players since, sources say."