Lie tests for South Korean footballers

South Korea has introduced lie detector tests to root out corruption in football after a series of match-fixing scandals that have tainted the sport and led to lifetime bans for players, officials said yesterday.

Prosecutors have already charged more than 70 footballers, gambling brokers and others for alleged involvement in the scandal that has rocked Asia's longest-running professional football league.

The Government has threatened to shut down the league if any more games are fixed.

The K-League will also double the minimum yearly wage of league players to US$22,670 ($27,600) to lessen the temptation to take bribes to fix games.

A former K-League player who allegedly worked as a broker was found dead in an apparent suicide in May, with a note that made reference to the match-fixing scandal.

Prosecutors claim players took money in return for making mistakes during matches in at least 15 matches last year, according to the BBC.

The league has imposed lifetime bans on 10 players who have been found guilty of match-fixing.

- Independent