Sumo wrestling grapples with gambling scandal

The Japanese sport of sumo wrestling may make the unprecedented move of canceling its next tournament because of allegations that wrestlers and coaches bet on baseball games.



Japan's Sumo Association is considering suspending more than a dozen wrestlers and their coaches for the baseball gambling ring, which allegedly involved gangster middlemen.



Police are considering criminal action pending the outcome of its investigation of the betting accusations, which first appeared in the weekly press.



The association's chairman, former wrestler Musashigawa, is expected to announce whether he will step down and suspend or fire the wrestlers and coaches who have been implicated.