It is becoming clear that unspeakable greed and a total lack of honor are disfiguring European football with some players and officials taking bribes to fix the outcome of games on which millions of dollars have been wagered by criminal Asian gambling syndicates. So far, the pan-European police force, Europol, has established that approaching 700 matches in 30 countries have been fixed, one way or another, in the last three or four years. Though some matches at the very highest level of the game have been targeted, it appears that the fraudsters have focused on lower divisions where players and referees are likely to be more amenable to bribes averaging $130,000 to ensure that games follow a prescribed course. It is not simply the outcome of a match on which wagers have been made, but also events within a game, such as when goals are scored or when players are shown a red card. Now, since the people who are the victims of this widespread and well-organized fraud are bookmakers, who generally stack betting odds in their favor and dupe gamblers out of billions every year, there should be no sympathy for them. However, the real damage is being done to the wonderful game of football whose standards and ethics are being steadily undermined. In top league teams, the salaries players receive are already astonishing. The fabulous wealth first division players can amass in just a few years inspires the dreams of millions of kids around the world as they kick a football around in the street or their backyard. With huge sums being invested in leading clubs, with TV networks prepared to pay tens of millions for broadcasting rights, with the merchandizing of club shirts and other paraphernalia netting further millions, football is not just big business — it is one of the biggest businesses in the world. And for the moment, even though some clubs protest that they are spending up to 60 percent of their income simply on paying the salaries of their players, there is no sign of this changing anytime soon. Indeed, even though so many clubs protest they are struggling to survive, they are still prepared to try and outbid each other in insane auctions to buy superstar players. At some point this madness is going to have to stop. Beneath the big cheques, the glitzy stands, the wall-to-wall media coverage and the endless gossip columns about the fortunes and misfortunes of the great soccer stars and their families, there is a simple game with straightforward rules, which can be played by virtually anybody with a ball. Acquiring the skills and daring to be a decent soccer player takes time and practice, not money. Yet money has so come to dominate the “Beautiful Game”, that the sport itself sometimes seems almost an irrelevance. It is all about the drama of the commentators, the ballyhoo of the pundits and the baying of violent fans, who would rather fight on the terraces than watch the game itself. And underpinning all of this sad distortion are the vast sums that football generates, for players, team owners and the media. Can it be surprising therefore that criminal gambling syndicates are reaching into this massive money pot and bribing players and match officials into extensive match fixing, which further undermines the reputation of this once wonderful game?
