FIVB rejects match-fixing allegations

TOKYO - Agence France-Presse

Thailand has claimed that Japan deliberately lost its Serbia match last week. AFP photo

Volleyball’s world governing body has rejected claims by Thailand that Japan’s women threw their Olympic qualifying match against Serbia at the weekend.

Thailand had complained after Japan’s full-set loss to Serbia denied them a first ever berth in Olympic women’s volleyball on the final day of the eight-nation qualifying tournament in Tokyo on May 27.

Jizhong Wei, president of Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), said in a statement issued on Monday: “The FIVB has investigated the allegation of match fixing.

“The conclusion of the FIVB control committee in place is that there is no evidence to prove the existence of match fixing,” he said.

“The reports received from the national federations of Japan and Serbia told us the same. Some witnesses in attendance at the match gave the same judgement.” Despite their own loss, Japan won a ticket to the London Games.

The tournament had been arranged to decide the final four volleyball spots, with the top-three finishers and the best Asian side among the rest bagging their spot.