Match Fixing in Indian Football: Interview with Minerva Punjab FC's Ranjit Bajaj

Harry and James (names changed at the request of the players involved) are professional footballers playing for current I-League leaders Minerva Punjab FC. Between 8:34 PM on Jan. 15, 2018 and 8 PM on Jan 17, 2018, both players were offered money in exchange for inside information and influencing on-field performance. The unidentified individuals making the advances offered the players as much as 30 lakh to fix I-League games. Both players immediately reported the approaches to club owner Ranjit Bajaj. Bajaj then followed protocol and reported the incidents to the All India Football Federation’s integrity officer and on the Asian Football Confederation’s integrity app. The club, despite not having a precedent for such a situation, reacted absolutely by the book. Bajaj spoke to NewsClick, in details, about the timelines of the approach and what happened since.