New Australia sports super-watchdog to target cheats
The cricket ball-tampering scandal that erupted in a Test against SA prompted the creation of a beefed-up body
Australia unveiled a new national integrity body on Tuesday to tackle cheating and corruption in sport in the wake of a ball-tampering “sandpapergate” scandal that rocked cricket. The new watchdog, Sport Integrity Australia, will combine the powers of three existing agencies, including the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (Asada), to better investigate doping, match-fixing, illegal betting, organised crime and corruption. “We have seen the massive fallout from the cricket ball-tampering scandal and the loss of belief in our national cricket team and we are determined to prevent incidents like this from happening,” sports minister Bridget McKenzie said. “Australian sports lovers deserve to know that the sport they watch and the teams they support are competing on a level playing field and [are] playing fairly,” she said. The current agencies are set to receive a boost in funding before Sport Integrity Australia formally launches in two years. Canberra said it is also setting u...
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