Four Football Scandals That Shook Football Fans Worldwide
A popular game such as football spends so much time in the spotlight that it inevitably draws some negative attention from time to time. Over the years there were plenty of scandals, but these four rocked the world of football and still reverberate in the collective memory of football fans.
Italy's First Match Fixing Scandal
Totonero is the famous match fixing scandal that happened in the 80s and involved some of the big Italian teams. Squads from both the first and second division were involved and the scandal led to the suspension of Paolo Rossi. He appeared and had the sentence reduced from three years to just two, to return and play an important role in the 1982 FIFA World Cup
That was the first time when the authorities were able to prove that important games were fixed for financial gains. Those who bet on sports undertake a lot of research to be able to make educated choices when wagering on matches. When things don’t go according to the plan and they lose, a few are quick to highlight the former corruption cases and suspect foul play.
Italian Football Back in the Spotlight with 2006 Calciopoli
Italy was hit hard by another major football scandal in 2006 when Juventus general managers were caught fixing matches. This time, those involved made sure they had the referees they wanted for certain fixtures and apparently got their way. When the media found out about what happened, Italian Football Federation prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi instrumented the case. Juventus was hit the hardest as the club was relegated to Serie B, fined for his role in the scandal and stripped of the most recent titles.
It took them a while to recover and the same goes for Italian football overall. Even so, they managed to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup and finish as runners-up at the 2012 European Championship. More than a decade later, interest for football is tremendous in Italy and it transcends the actual sports. Football themed slots can be played online casino games that are now available on mobile devices.
The 2015 Greek Football Scandal
In 2015, Greek football fans found out about the wide plot involving the owner of Olympiakos in the biggest Greek football scandal. Together with members of the Greek football Federation, they created a wide network aimed at achieving total control over the National Football League. Referees, football directors and even judges were mired in the incident, but all of them denied the charges brought against them. The credibility of Greek football was badly affected by this huge football scandal in Greece.
The Widest Spread Football Corruption Case
The aforementioned football scandals were all dwarfed by the 2015 FIFA World Cup affair. It was the US federal prosecutors that disclosed cased of corruption among high-ranking fee for officials. The ones involved were bribes to grant the right of hosting various tournaments to various football federations across the globe. Jeffrey Webb, the CONCACAF President was arrested in the scandal and many more followed him to jail over the next couple of years.
The highlight of this football scandal was on May 27 when 750 officials were arrested as they were about to participate in the 65 FIFA Congress. According to the prosecutors’ estimations, the ones responsible received bribes in excess of $150 million. Some are awaiting extradition while others are being investigated in various countries including Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany and Switzerland.
