S.Korea Olympic football skipper in fixing probe

The captain of South Korea's Olympic football squad has been questioned by prosecutors investigating a widening match-fixing scandal that has rattled the professional K-League, a spokesman said Tuesday. Hong Jeong-Ho, a 20-year-old defender for Jeju United, has been questioned daily by prosecutors since Sunday, said Jeju United spokesman Kim Dong-Nam. Hong was approached by a broker last month to take part in match-fixing but immediately rejected the offer, the spokesman told AFP. "Hong flatly denied he had committed any wrongdoing," he said. Eleven players have so far been charged with taking money from gambling brokers in return for allowing their teams to lose. Another player who was implicated in the scandal committed suicide. Of the 11 who have been charged, all but one have been banned for life from the K-League. Vice Sports Minister Park Sun-Kyoo said last week that teams whose players are caught in match-fixing would in future be permanently expelled from the K-League. Nearly all football players, coaches, referees and officials have now signed a pledge to root out match-rigging and other illegal activities. K-League officials have urged players to come forward in return for lenient penalties.