24 January 2019, by: Carl Lewis

The Biggest Cheating Scandals in Sport

With Saracens making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, the very successful club broke the Premiership salary cap rules.

Saracens breached the salary cap in three consecutive seasons – with more than £1.1m, just over £98,000 and £906,000 in consecutive seasons.

So we in the BET.co.za office decided to create a list with some of the best cheating scandals in sport.

Enjoy.

The 2018 Australian ball-tampering fiasco, known as the ‘Sandpapergate’ was a spectacle like no other ball-tampering incident. This particular Test series played out like a dramatic movie which had everything, there was so much bad blood between the two sides before the Newlands Test. Thanks to the bright Supersport cameramen, Baggy green junior Cameron Bancroft was caught attempting to scuff the ball up with sandpaper to help with reverse swing, something the Aussies were very good at.

Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved and all three received harsh punishments from Cricket Australia. This rocked the cricket world like no other, perhaps making people forget that ball-tampering has always been around in the game of cricket.

In case you missed it, this #SandpaperGate #BallTampering is utterly outrageous. It’s just not cricket. #BanBancroft pic.twitter.com/Z3zpIA32Jr

— Emma Sadleir (@EmmaSadleir) March 24, 2018

Patrick Reed gets busted cheating at the Hero World Challenge pic.twitter.com/r25cE6zenE

— Viral Sports (@NotScTop10plays) December 6, 2019

This was a pretty smart cheat but it still is a cheat. Harlequins Tom Williams used a blood capsule (from a novelty shop) to fake an injury in a crucial European quarterfinal in 2009, this blood ‘injury’ allowed them an extra substitute because the team fancied bringing on a specialist kicker, very cheeky. Thereafter, it came to the fore that it wasn’t the only time Harlequins pulled off this stunt.

I hope Saracens lose players & get slaughtered for what they did. But the irony of Harlequins’ Chris Robshaw calling them “cheats” and saying “they’ve put Rugby Union in a very dangerous place” when his side had a player take a blood capsule to fake an injury is pretty incredible

— Ricky Harries (@RickyHarries) November 6, 2019

The New England Patriots are the definition of success in the sporting world with numerous Superbowl championships over the years. However, they didn’t always follow the rules in their quest for glory.

First, there was “Spygate” where they inappropriately videotaped the Jets coaching staffs signals in 2007 to get an edge.

Then there was “Deflategate” in 2015 where the Patriots supplied footballs that were underinflated. An investigation by the N.F.L. found that the Patriots were deflating the balls and that Goldenboy quarterback Tom Brady, who preferred footballs to be softer, was aware of the practice.

Hansie Cronje was a South African hero before a seismic fall from grace. When the Delhi Police in India revealed that Cronje was caught on tape negotiating the throwing of matches for money, it rocked the cricketing world and in particular South Africa, who had come to know Cronje as an upstanding leader. Cronje was providing information to a known gambler before certain matches between India and his South Africa team. Cronje was issued with a lifetime ban but tragically died in a plane crash in 2002.

ICYMI: the story behind the Hansie Cronje scandal, 20 years later… #SAvENG

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 16, 2020

In 2001, twins Sergio and Arnold Motsoeneng both ran about half of the Comrades marathon. Arnold slipped his race vest to his brother (Sergio) inside a toilet who ran the rest of the race. Sergio finished “eighth”, but the referees were suspicious when some of the front-runners said they never saw him overtake them. No proof could be found and the complaints were dismissed. However, the brothers owned up when photographs were published showing them wearing their watches on different arms. Crazy!

Several top Italian soccer teams were found in 2006 to have influenced referees because they would get beneficial decisions in matches. This was a huge scandal which saw Juventus relegated and stripped of its Serie A titles in 2005 and 2006. Milan were deducted 30 points for 2006 which meant third-placed finisher Inter became the champions. Fiorentina and Lazio were also barred from playing in Europe the next year.