FAR East Asian Pre-Season Tour could damage Arsenal reputation - Guardian UK

An article wrote in a British tabloid today that stated - 

Arsenal's put reputation at risk with pre-season tour of Malaysia

• Malaysian football has been engulfed by match-fixing scandals

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has tarnished the image of the Arsenal's Malaysian fans here. The writer should check their source well before publishing the article. Those who was arrested are from the club' s coaching staff and bookmakers which involve in the reserve league and not our Malaysian Super League. To make things worse.They just straight jump to conclusion to name Malaysia, China, Thailand and Singapore as the match-fixing capitals. Just look at the fans here (picture) how strong the support we have here.  

``Declan Hill, the academic and author of The Fix, an influential investigation into corruption in sport, told Digger that Arsenal's tour of Malaysia and China puts them at the heart of a region where match-fixing is a problem, running big risks for their own reputation. "China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are match-fixing capitals," said Hill.

"If I were the head of Arsenal security I would want to keep a very close eye on any of my players meeting gamblers or fixers there. The players will not know what is going on, but the gamblers and fixers will approach them and try anything they can do to befriend the players."

The fixture takes place in the weeks following a number of arrests and court appearances of Malaysian clubs' coaching staff and bookmakers who are alleged to have paid bribes to influence the outcome of matches in a nation where the unregulated sports-betting industry is estimated to be worth £4.2bn a year. In China, where Arsenal head after Malaysia, the arrests of players and officials now exceed 100. Even the Chinese premier, Hu Jintao, calls Chinese football a national embarrassment.

There is no suggestion that the result or any individual outcome in Arsenal's matches will be fixed or compromised. But the Gunners' decision to head to a region in the grip of a match-fixing storm exposes them to risk. An Arsenal spokesman said: "The game is being used as trial run for a World Cup qualifier Malaysia are playing. We are working to the highest standards of integrity."

The tour has been organised by ProEvent, a local company that in the past has arranged overseas tours for Liverpool and Manchester United.

The 41-year-old Mohd Yusof Bin Mat Karim, a Malaysian on the Fifa international referees' match list, will officiate the match.

Arsenal must hope there are no mishaps. For in that event, the £15m Arsenal expect to generate from the trip would be far outweighed by the damage to the club's reputationon.