The beautiful game becoming very dirty

From February 12 to February 15, the Associated Press published a four-part exposé into match fixing and corruption in the game of soccer.

That there’s corruption in soccer isn’t a revelation. Whole Asian leagues have been destroyed in the past due to chronic match fixing. But what comes out of the AP investigation is the suggestion that the problem is far wider than you might think. Not just Asian leagues, but European leagues; not just players but also team owners and officials acting to improperly influence outcomes; not just the occasional tainted game, hundreds each season; not just a few million dollars gained by fixers but many billions annually.

If you are a football fan and have the time I’d encourage you to read the full AP series which has been carried by most major news services…just Google “The Dirty Game, AP probe into soccer fraud and take your pick. It all makes for a fascinating and at times disturbing reading.

For the time challenged among you, below are some of the key findings that have been published.

680 “suspicious” games

EU police body Europol, have identified 680 soccer matches since 2008 that they deem to be suspicious. 380 of these took place in Europe. According to a UK based agency that monitors sports betting activity (Sportradar) the Europol numbers are very conservative. They say at least 300 games in Europe each year are rigged.

Chris Eaton, from the International Centre for Sport Security says that rigging has been found to take place at all levels of the game, from World Cup, Champions League and elite level leagues like Italy’s Series A, down to semi-pro games.

US$15 billion annually in fixed match winnings

Organized crime takes in an estimated (by FIFA) $15 billion each year from fixed outcomes. One operation in Italy earned crime syndicates an estimated $2.6 billion. This number is put into perspective when it is considered that FIFA earned less ($2.4 billion) for worldwide broadcast rights for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Driven by Asian wagering dollar and online

Rapidly growing Asian wagering interest in European leagues is seen as the driving force behind the increasing incidence of match fixing in Europe. Fueled by the myriad of available online options and a distrust of local Asian leagues which have long been tainted (so widespread was match fixing in China that in 2011, one network refused to broadcast the country’s soccer games), the world’s biggest betting market has become increasingly interested in European games.

In-play betting has also been a contributing factor since it’s easier to control an element with a game than the overall result.

Not just players

Players being bribed or coerced into throwing games or otherwise serving the interests of criminals isn’t where it ends.

Officials and even team owners have been found to be involved in rigged outcomes. Criminal elements in China and the Balkans have found it cheaper to own teams so that outcomes can be dictated to players on an ongoing basis, rather than having to pay them off on each occasion. The added bonus of owning a  football club is that it becomes a useful vehicle to launder money.

One Serbian player told FIFPro that he was aware of many times where two clubs agreed on the game outcome before kick-off. A note would simply be handed to players letting them know what the result was to be. Non-compliance could mean suspended wages, or worse.

In some cases referees are involved. FIFA banned 6 officials involved in games between Bolivia and Latvia, the other between Bulgaria and Estonia played in Antalya in 2011 after all 7 goals kicked in both matched came from free kicks. An unusually high US$6.9 million was found to have been be wagered on the Bulgarian game.

“Football is in a disastrous state”

In order to fix a problem, that problem musty be recognized and the one positive here is that everyone from Seth Blatter down seems to admit that there is a serious issue here. But the scale of corruption has left many concerned that it is just too big to get on top of. A joint FIFA/UEFA report released in 2012 noted that sports authorities were, “proving to be particularly helpless in the face of the transnational resources”.

The report concluded that the game of soccer was in danger of, “falling into decay in the face of repeated scandals is genuine and must not be underestimated”.

Perhaps the last word should be left to Chris Eaton. who says, “Football is in a disastrous state…Fixing of matches for criminal gambling fraud purposes is absolutely endemic worldwide … arrogantly happening daily”

Certainly makes you think twice before taking a punt!