In the first part we showed the scale of corruption in Kazakh football — 4th place in the world for match-fixing. We also covered the interview with Mazhilis deputy Abzal Kuspan, who revealed the mechanism of using sports federations for corruption schemes.
According to him, practically all members of the government are on the boards of sports organisations, which creates a mutual responsibility and makes control impossible. In the deputy's opinion, sport has become a convenient loophole for corruption, where billions are 'laundered' elegantly through match-fixing.
Now we move on to specific cases of buying championships.
The overall picture of systemic corruption finds concrete embodiment in the history of the recent championships of the Kazakhstan Premier League (KPL). Each 'won' title has its own detective story with sums, methods, and participants.
2022 CHAMPIONSHIP: 'ASTANA'
Astana's championship in 2022 raises certain questions within the football community. After several years without gold medals, suggestions emerged that a decision had been made to return the team to the top by any means necessary.
Observers noted weak resistance from the clubs 'Kyzylzhar', 'Atyrau' and 'Okzhetpes'. Controversial penalties and red cards in decisive matches raised questions among experts. It is suspected that budget forcing may have been carried out with the involvement of influential figures, including Sayat Khamitzhanov.
2023 CHAMPIONSHIP: 'ORDABASY'
The Shymkent club 'Ordabasy' won the 2023 championship under suspicious circumstances. According to unofficial data, sums amounting to tens of millions of tenge were spent on favourable decisions in key matches.
Several penalties in the last minutes and disallowed goals for opponents fit into an orchestrated scenario. Significantly, the club's budget increased sharply and exceeded the capabilities of 'Astana', with the money being directed to everything except ensuring the transparency of the competitions.
2024 CHAMPIONSHIP: 'KAIRAT'
The 2024 season was marked by the return of Kairat Boranbayev with corruption practices of the old format.
According to unofficial data, key referees and KFF officials were bought off, and 'Atyrau' fell within Kairat's sphere of influence. The final was characterised by convenient defeats for competitors, refereeing errors in favour of Kairat, and silence from the KFF. According to expert estimates, up to 1 billion tenge was spent on 'securing the result'.
THE CASE OF 'TOBOL' IN 2019
The story of Kostanay's 'Tobol' in 2019 deserves special attention, when the club deliberately gave up the championship. Under the leadership of Vladimir Gazzaev, the team was leading the KPL by the summer with a strong squad.
However, in the summer of 2019, the club's management initiated the surprising dismissal of Gazzaev. This led to the team's collapse; 'Tobol' finished 4th, and 'Astana' became champions. In a video from the YouTube channel 'Vporyadke' it is openly stated that 'Tobol' threw the championship on the orders of management.
REFEREEING SCANDALS
The scandal in the match 'Turan' — 'Kyzylzhar' of the 16th round of the KPL was telling. Referee Timur Kumashev awarded a highly controversial penalty in favour of 'Kyzylzhar' in the 84th minute.
The KFF Refereeing Department under the leadership of Nuno de Castro conducted an investigation and banned the referee until the end of the 2025 season. It emerged that Kumashev had previously been suspended on the recommendation of the integrity officer and is named in a match-fixing investigation.
However, the work of the Portuguese de Castro is also drawing criticism. According to an ex-referee from Almaty, the methods remain the same as those of his predecessors, including the emergence of favourites among the referees.
PUBLIC REACTION
The problem of match-fixing is actively discussed in sports media. The YouTube channel 'Schrödinger's Sport' thoroughly dissects scandalous cases, where teams 'parted ways' before the favourites in the presence of influential people in the VIP stands.
Specific stories of stolen championships and billion-tenge spending on buying titles raise the main question: why, given the obviousness of the problem, does the system continue to function?
To be continued...