Aussie footballers in Asia particularly at risk of being embroilled in football's match-fixing scandal Fox Sports football commentator Robbie Slater says he's not surprised with news of a vast match-fixing network in football. Desperate players could be vulnerable to the approaches of fixers said Brendan Schwab, now the head of the FIFPro body that works with players unions across Asia. THE vulnerability of Australian footballers across Asia is the biggest risk of football's match-fixing scandal approaching these shores, the former head of the players' union has warned. Facing the twin pressures of physical threats and unpaid contracts, desperate players could be vulnerable to the approaches of fixers said Brendan Schwab, now the head of the FIFPro body that works with players unions across Asia. Football across the globe was rocked yesterday by the details of a European police investigation uncovering 380 suspicious matches involving a Singapore-based betting cartel, and targeting hundreds of players, referees and officials around the world. Matches included two Champions League games, one of them in England, and World Cup qualifiers, netting criminals more than eight million euros ($10.44 million). Schwab had first hand experience of how treacherous the issue could be last year when he met the General Secretary of the Chinese Football Association Nan Yong, and discussed the dangers of match fixing - only to see Yong himself go to jail soon after for corruption and bribery. Though there is no suggestion that the current investigation includes Australia, Schwab said that the spread of mass betting linked to organised crime meant all sports were a target. "What worries me is not the A-League, as we think that can be well regulated with good player education, a code of conduct and a broad statutory environment," Schwab said. The bigger concern is Australian players going to work in Asian countries, without appropriate protection or education. For instance there's been a significant match-fixing scandal in South Korea, and we've raised with Football Federation Australia the need to make sure players have sufficient protection. If an approach comes to a player it's usually at the end of a chain of corruption, and usually accompanied by some sort of threat to the player and his family. The other side is when a player's contract has not been respected and he could be owed large amounts of money, struggling to support his family. In that situation players can become desperate and prone to corruption, as we've seen in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. Schwab said that players could be fearful of knowing who they could trust in an alien environment if they wanted to report an approach. In his view football should follow the example of cricket where the players' union acts as a first point of reporting for players, passing the information on securely to appropriate authorities. "FIFA is planning a global hotline, but that could be intimidating to a young player in fear for his safety," Schwab said. They need an outlet they can trust and they feel will protect them.