Whilst there is corruption in sport when it comes to betting the bookmakers are well on the ball. I worked at William Hill in the 80's before we had all the info at our fingertips. The North West hub was in Stockport where bets were monitored outside of horse racing. So, if a stranger walked into a shop and wanted just £10 on say Miss World winner the Manger had to ring in and ask if the bet could be taken. Any unusual pattern could be quickly established and snuffed out.
A snooker player called Peter Francisco was playing in the World Championship at the Crucible ine afternoon, he and his opponent played the game in the morning away from the Crucible in a snooker club, they played it competitively and then replicated it at the Crucible the same afternoon. A significant number of bets were placed at shops around the North West on the Correct score but within around 30 minutes betting was suspended due to "unusual activity" and all bets were declared void.
That was over 30 years ago, now with all the technology im sure even Clattenberg wouldn't be involved with fiddling for betting sake. Ok, betting in the Asian market is open to abuse but those guys are not stupid, once a dodgy decision cost them a few bob they will be wary and monitoring the bets involving the protagonist. I'm not saying it hasn't happened but it's unlikely anyone gets away with it too often before being bubbled.
Some refs are shit and like being the centre of attention and love to suck up to media darlings like Trafford Rangers, the Spuds and the bin dippers, don't think anything is any more sinister than that.
