Corruption from players is one of the toughest challenges the world of sport faces in the modern age. Trust is lost from the spectators. Integrity is questioned. Heroes are made into zeroes. Suspicion levels are raised every time there is an incident which comes across as dramatic or unusual in the future chain of events, rather than being an unbelievable piece of high class sporting drama to entertain the audience. The thought of match fixing or spot fixing circles the mind. One is questioning the very product they are viewing. Do the individuals participating have an ulterior motive in mind as opposed to giving their maximum best at every given opportunity? And subsequently enhancing their chances of success. 

No individual is bigger than the game. Nothing is more significant than the credibility of the sport. One cannot be naive. A strong precedent must be established. A strong message must be sent.

Governing bodies and national boards need to set the benchmark with a zero tolerance approach towards those who abuse the privileges associated with representing a team in a professional environment. Few get the opportunity to play top level sport. Many dream of, but never get anywhere remotely close. How possibly could one abuse the privileges if they are provided with the opportunity many dream of, only to fall short of chasing such dreams by variable margins?

There are several measures which can be taken to tackle the growing problem. Strong deterrents can include educational programmes, strict punishments and introducing a higher salary to provide the necessary financial security which ensures that players do not need to get into such type of activities in order to earn sufficiently. In certain parts of the world and in certain sports the salaries are too low and therefore can tempt athletes into entering troubled waters.

Perhaps the biggest deterrent of all, could be the track records and achievements statistics are totally nullified should a participator be caught and found guilty. Everything they have ever achieved in the game is gone and falls under the category of "anonymous." All that training, dedication and effort in their career will therefore count for nothing. There will be no evidence to back up what they have achieved. It will wiped out with the click of a button. This surely will make people think twice before engaging in such shameful activities which bring their team and more importantly the wider game into disrepute.

For example Lance Armstrong in cycling. He had various prestigious titles taken away from him. An unthinkable fall from grace. If more sports follow such a procedure, corruption could be minimised for the better. One wonders why they don't already? Without the fundamentals of integrity, all past achievements are futile. Sport must take a lead in that. One should not be able to cherish what they have achieved for the rest of their careers, if they fall over that dreaded line. Corruption is a major issue. There is little option but to take extremely bold steps. Sport has that precious ability to inspire and bring about change like nothing before. It's survival has to be at the forefront of everyone's minds. Being ruthless in acting against it is the only way forward. 

In statistically dominated sports where individuals get pride, pleasure and satisfaction from their numbers which reflect achievements and performances over a career, perhaps the option of that being nullified will reduce the number of match fixing cases. It may to be too idealistic to expect games to be 100% clean. But the closer to 100% the better.