Its hierarchical structure means that lower-ranked wrestlers are poorly paid, making them vulnerable to approaches from gambling syndicates. In 2011, police uncovered widespread match-fixing, which led to the retirement of 14 wrestlers.<\/p>\n
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A year earlier, the sport was rocked by scandal, as the JSA announced the dismissal of champion-rank wrestler Kotomitsuki and stablemaster \u014ctake for betting on baseball games in a yakuza gambling ring. In addition, two stablemasters were demoted and 18 wrestlers were temporarily banned for their part in the scandal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Meanwhile, the JSA prohibited “violent groups or antisocial forces” from accessing sumo venues, training stables, and other facilities.<\/p>\n
In April 2010, Japan’s largest yakuza group, Yamaguchi-Gumi, block-bought 50 front row seats at a tournament so they could be prominently visible during the televised bout. This was done to cheer up an incarcerated syndicate boss who was watching from his prison cell, according to a 2010 New York Times<\/em> article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two Japanese sumo wrestlers have been sidelined from the sport for their alleged involvement in illegal gambling. The Japanese Sumo Association\u2019s (JSA) compliance committee confirmed this week that elite\u00a0makuuchi\u00a0division wrestler Hidenoumi and second-tier\u00a0juryo-division wrestler Shiden were targeted. They are believed to have visited an underground gambling establishment that operated out of a store in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":198287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Sumo Wrestlers Jettisoned After Illegal Gambling Probe<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n