Unfaithful soccer stars and crooked cricketers will soon be safe from the most prying of Britain’s muckraking tabloids.
The News of the World goes on sale for the last time Sunday, shut down by its proprietor after 168 years.
The Murdoch-owned News International is trying to limit the fallout of allegations that reporters illegally tapped cell phones and bribed police. Among those who will not be mourning the loss of Britain’s best-selling Sunday newspaper will be the many sports figures targeted by sting operations. On the paper’s long list of scoops are motor racing boss Max Mosley’s sadomasochistic encounter, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s readiness to quit as England’s soccer coach and match-fixing by three Pakistan cricketers
Sitting alongside colorful descriptions of the private and not-so-private lives of A-list actors, soap stars and pop idols, the News of the World’s lurid stories of infidelity by the likes of soccer’s Wayne Rooney and John Terry seemed to exist solely to titillate readers. Still, last year’s exposure of Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt conspiring with bookmakers to fix Pakistan’s cricket match against England showed that the paper could do serious work, too.
The News of the World won four awards at April’s UK Press Awards, including News Reporter of the Year and Scoop of the Year, both relating to its exposure of match-fixing by the Pakistan trio.
But even at that high point, many felt unease at the newspaper’s methods in bringing to light the facts that helped build the case for criminal charges.
“I congratulate the News of The World,” said Ronnie Flanagan, the chairman of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. “They (the charges) were brought to light in ways the ICC can’t engage in, ways the ICC would not like to engage in.” It wasn’t the first time the paper had engineered such a sting.
Three months earlier, the paper caught world snooker champion John Higgins apparently agreeing to fix aspects of matches for money. Higgins later said he had never fixed a match and played along with the ruse out of fear for his safety, but was suspended from the sport for six months.