Match fixing

I just wondered if anyone had any views on this rather unfortunate subject that has cropped up again, which robs decent football supporters, of their hard earned cash watching matches that may be rigged in some way or another by players getting themselves booked or sent off as part of a major betting scam going on in certain parts of the world. Does the problem put doubts in your mind that something unusual may be going on, when watching a footie match, or is it just designed to the lower leagues.

Firstly let's be clear on something. The media keep referring to it as 'Match' fixing. It isn't, to actually fix the result of a match would need at least half the players in the game involved.
What it is, is 'spot' fixing and to be honest the people who I think are most to blame are the betting industry themselves. Making it possible to bet on just about anything from the time of the first throw in to what time the snack bars will run out of meat pies means that it's dead easy for one player to influence a bet.
Is it just confined to the lower leagues? Well with the 'average' prem player on £25-30k a week how much would you have to offer in bribes? Marry that up to the fact that the odds on John Smith getting sent off playing for NoGlory Rovers in the Norhern Championship league will be exactly the same as betting on Billy Superstar doing it in the Premiership meaning that the criminals can make just as much money for far less of a bribe and you'd hope that yes the top of the game is clean.