Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. game fixing
    • ex. Game fixing is illegal because it makes the match unfair.
  2. on purpose
    • ex. He left early on purpose so he wouldn’t be late for the meeting.
  3. integrity
    • ex. The player showed integrity by admitting to the mistake.
  4. suspend
    • ex. The player was suspended for breaking the rules.
  5. a conviction
    • ex. His conviction made it hard for him to find a new job.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Ulises Davila, a former soccer captain in Australia, has admitted to game fixing and said in court that he was guilty. Davila played for the Macarthur team in Australia’s top soccer league. He and two of his teammates tried to change the game results on purpose. Before a match in December 2023, they planned to get yellow cards during the game. They did this to affect the results of bets on a gambling website. Reports say that Davila paid each of his teammates 10,000 Australian dollars (about ¥980,000) for helping with the game fixing.

The court said that Davila’s actions tried to damage the sport’s integrity. He later lost his job and was suspended from playing soccer. However, his two teammates did not receive a conviction because their roles in the plan were smaller. The soccer club said that stronger rules are needed to prevent cheating in the future.

Davila once played for Mexico’s youth team and joined a famous English club when he was 20. He later played in many countries before coming to Australia in 2019. He even won an award for being the best player in the league.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Game Fixing

  • Ulises Davila, a former soccer captain in Australia, admitted to game fixing and was suspended from playing soccer. Do you think players who are caught fixing games should be banned for life? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is game fixing a huge problem for many sports leagues? Why do you say so? Discuss.
  • As a fan, how would you feel if you found out that your favorite player or team did game fixing (ex. disappointed, angry)? Discuss.

Integrity

  • In your opinion, how important is integrity for professional athletes? Discuss.
  • The court said that Davila’s actions tried to damage the sport’s integrity. In your opinion, how could his actions affect the sport? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what does it mean to have integrity at work? Discuss.