Eaton said, although adding that some level of fixing still exists.Eaton said if the Asian Football Confederation had really adopted a harsher and more proactive approaching to fighting match

Eighth spot on the ladder is officially up for grabs according to this weeks installment of the ESPN AFL Power Rankings. North Melbourne have squandered a league-leading 9-0 record to fall out of the rankings top eight for the first time this season, following their poor effort against Port Adelaide on Saturday.On paper, the Kangaroos do seem to have a slightly relaxed immediate fixture, though matches against in-form teams Collingwood and St Kilda would have North coach Brad Scott considerably less confident than what he might have been two months ago.If Geelong are to challenge for a top four spot, they must take care of business at home this week. They currently have the worst percentage of the four teams with 11 wins, and although pack leader GWS are only a few percentage points ahead, the Cats have the tougher run home, hence their ranking position of seven.The Bulldogs have jumped up a couple of spots following their strong recent form, but West Coasts shaky MCG performance culminated in just a seven-point win over Carlton; theyve slipped out of the top four as a result.The bottom half of the ladder remains largely unchanged after last weekends results, with only Melbourne dropping a couple of spots after they were unable to break their 12-game losing streak to the Saints.Stitched Bulls Jerseys . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. 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The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston.SEOUL, South Korea -- For all the new investment and advancements driving unprecedented growth in Asian football, its an old problem that is still causing concern at the grassroots.Billions have been invested in Super Leagues in China and India, the 2022 World Cup is coming to Qatar and the flow of players to Europe is on the rise, giving Asia some prominence in the global game, but regional soccer administrators are still grappling with match fixing.The good news is, theyre fighting it.On Monday, the Asian Football Confederation suspended four players from the Laos national team on suspicion of match manipulation. All four were involved in Laos opening game against Sri Lanka at the inaugural Solidarity Cup, for the lower-ranked teams in the continent.Steve Darby is a former head coach of Laos -- he was in charge during its failed qualifying run for the 2018 World Cup -- and said he was shocked and angered by the news. Two of the four accused were in his team.They trained well and always gave 100 percent in matches. I trusted them, Darby told The Associated Press. One of the others I dropped from the squad but that was for form and nothing else.Darby said that, at least while he himself was in Laos, the fourth player -- a goalkeeper -- was not playing regularly at the top club level.He has made a rapid rise from about eighth choice to becoming the national team keeper, Darby noted. You have to ask how this occurred.Darby has seen it from a rival teams perspective. In 2014, nine players of Vietnamese club Ninh Binh were found guilty of match-fixing in an AFC Cup match with Malaysian club Kelantan, which Darby was coaching at the time.It is hard to accept when it is you that is being cheated, Darby said. Like in all southeast Asian nations, there are rumors -- some you think are feasible, some outlandish. You dont know who is fixing.Southeast Asia has long been regarded as a hotbed of match-fixing. Singapore, home to high-profile alleged match-fixers such as Dan Tan, has made recent progress in tackling the problem, according to Chris Eaton, FIFAs former head of security and now an independent sports integrity adviser.Singapore has taken decisive action to contain locally-bred match fixers, Eaton said. Singapore ultimately realized that itt has a duty of care to all nations for its home-grown criminality.ddddddddddddThe problem is by no means contained to one region. In 2011, South Korea had a major scandal of its own with more than 50 players and coaches, past and present, charged with rigging matches.The countrys leading club Jeonbuk Motors, which is preparing for the final of the 2016 Asian Champions League later this month, is under the shadow of its own scandal.In September, the team was stripped of nine competition points by the K-League authorities after a club scout was convicted of bribing referees in 2013. The punishment cost the club, which denies any knowledge of wrongdoing, a third successive domestic title. It is also possible that the AFC will bar Jeonbuk, champion of Asia in 2006 and finalist in 2011, from entering the 2017 tournament.Chinese soccer had periodic outbreaks of corruption until the authorities got tough in 2010, jailing officials and referees.It has done a great deal over the past five years to address the problem with significant criminal prosecutions of players and referees, Eaton said, although adding that some level of fixing still exists.Eaton said if the Asian Football Confederation had really adopted a harsher and more proactive approaching to fighting match fixing, that will not only be good for regional football, but global football also.In a statement released to the AP, the AFC reiterated a zero tolerance to match manipulation and said it was determined to stamp it out.But Darby said while catching the players is necessary, more needs to be done to bring the orchestrators of corruption to justice.They have caught the foot soldiers but need to catch the generals, he said. If the players are guilty there is somebody above them, they cannot do this on their own.He points to illegal gambling as a major problem. Eaton agrees.Match-Fixing is absolutely and clearly holding Asian football back, Eaton said. The only way to drive organized crime out of sport is to deny it the money.He said reforming sports betting by legalizing it would help ensure it was regulated properly at national, regional and global levels. ' ' '