It happens, but does it happen in England? I bet you it does ! http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19079604 as this article highlights there have been some high profile cases recently. What do you all make of it? With the financial benefit it might have on individuals then it isn't totally surprising that it happens. I once though Jason Lee was paid to play badly, then I just realised that him and later Ellington werre just, well bookies favourites to not score.
Nothing whatsoever to do with this thread, but I just thought I would randomly reminisce about the 2018 FIFA World Cup vote. In particular the Netherlands' missing vote in the second round.
There's nothing wrong with most of the rest of the world hating the English: we are arrogant gits, unashamedly so. The problem I have with the world cup bid is twofold. First up, the powers that be hate us. Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter are in positions where they really are under an obligation to be neutral (or at least, to be open about their preferences and prejudices, and about their reasons for them). Two, if you have a set of objective criteria which all bids are obliged to meet, and only two out of four bids meet them, why were the other two bids up for consideration? And why on EARTH were those the only two which got significant support?
A case of history repeating itself there - the Hungarian/Italian 'Axis' that allowed Italian clubs to cheat their way to European glory in the 60's. It really wouldn't surprise me to find that it (still) happens in England - especially with all the investment from Far Eastern mega-rich syndicates, known hotbed of illegal sports gambling that SE Asia is.
Small scale betting "scams" are rife in football with players betting on the well known "first throw in", "first foul throw" etc and being able to directly influence it. But what really made me think was Tony Cascarino open admitting on TalkShite that when he played for Chelsea he bet on the opposing team (Man Utd) to win the 1994 Cup Final, because if Chelsea won he would get his win bonus and if they lost he would still be quids in through the bet - his argument was that the bet did not give him any incentive to not try to win. I would expect that sort of behaviour is rife in football.
Spot fixing almost definitely (players have admitted to being in a position to spot fix in the past). Match fixing I'm not sure about. But definitely not systematic match fixing. Every man on a pitch is important, but only a goalkeeper or referee can perform so badly that he can be sure that a team will lose. And at that level there is hardly anyone talented enough to affect more than one match and still get picked.
Most sports display outbreaks of corruption in their history and no doubt more that went unreported. In the early days wagers were often an assumed part of the contest...the prize for the winners if you like. It's easy to assume that once games became professional, payment was enough, but the links with gambling never went away. I remember being young enough to be shocked by the trial of Mssrs Swan, Layne and Kay at Sheffield Wednesday but nothing surprises me now.
Nothing greatly surprises me when football has become more of a business than a sport. The rewards are huge, not only for the owners of successful sides, but for the players as well. When you see Championship players earning £30,000 pw + you know that reality has gone out of the window. I do also worry that some clubs have become a vehicle for money laundering. Without naming any club there have been serious allegations that some have been involved in it, probably without the knowledge of the staff employed.
