Corruption in football


According to Bernama (June 08, 2011) FAM Deputy President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said a police officer will be placed at FAM to check on corruption.
My mischief self was asking “ Why? To ensure that the practice is smooth and well managed.”

Just kidding.

In all honesty, I share the same sentiments as Tengku Mahkota  “I am very disappointed as it will destroy our football. I don’t want a repeat of the big operations against corruption in 1995”
I think what Tengku Mahkota meant was that this will destroy our football even further. It really doesn’t need any help in going down the drains.
I remember asking an ex FAM officer whether corruption exist in Malaysian football. He asked me to show proof that it exists.

For those who say “NO, there is no corruption in football  i.e Sepp Blatter, please read on.

In January 2006, then Luton Town manager, Mike Newell and then-manager of Queens Park Rangers, Ian Holloway alleged that backhanders (bribes) were rife in the sport. The Football Association subsequently held talks with the two managers and established an enquiry.
On 19 September 2006 the BBC current affairs television programme Panorama broadcast a special investigation into corruption in English football which had begun filming in August 2005.
"Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets" included footage shown of meetings between agents, managers and high ranking football club officials, filmed undercover by Knut auf dem Berge, a freelance coach posing as a prospective football agent. This footage purported to show agents and managers accepting backhanders and illegally "tapping-up" players under contract to other clubs.
These allegations included:
  • That Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce, and his agent son Craig were alleged to have accepted "bungs" (bribes) from agents for signing certain players. Two agents, Teni Yerima and Peter Harrison, were secretly filmed, each separately claiming that they had paid Allardyce through his son. Allardyce denies ever taking, or asking for, a bung.
  • Then Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is secretly filmed discussing the possibility of buying the Blackburn Rovers captain Andy Todd with agent Peter Harrison, which is illegal under FA rules. However, the programme merely showed Harrison approaching Redknapp and asking direct questions which Redknapp answered.
  • Then Portsmouth first-team coach Kevin Bond, first team coach of Newcastle United when the programme was aired, is secretly recorded admitting he would consider discussing receiving payments from a proposed new agency involving agent Peter Harrison. This was the programme's description; it did not seem explicit from the extract broadcast. Bond was suspended and then sacked by Newcastle as a result of the allegations.
  • Chelsea director of youth football Frank Arnesen is secretly filmed making an illegal approach or "tapping up" Middlesbrough's England youth star 15-year-old Nathan Porritt. Arnesen offers a fee of £150,000 spread over three years as an incentive to move, although he had been advised that it was 99.9% certain that Porritt would leave Middlesbrough. Both of these allegations are illegal under FA rules. Officials from Liverpool and Newcastle United were also implicated in attempts to sign Porritt.
  • Agent Peter Harrison told the undercover reporter that, to secure transfer deals with Bolton, he bribed Sam Allardyce by offering to pay his son Craig. Harrison is a FIFA-listed agent, who is based in the north-east of England.
  • That three different Bolton transfer signings involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce, some when he was contractually banned from doing any Bolton deals. Panorama alleged Bolton's transfer signings of defender Tal Ben Haim, midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce. Allardyce's son quit the agency business in summer 2006, and has admitted in newspaper interviews that his working as an agent might have cost his father the chance of becoming England manager.
  • Agent Charles Collymore, is secretly filmed in the Panorama film, saying: "There's managers out there who take bungs all day long. I would say to you comfortably there's six to eight managers we could definitely approach and they'd be up for this no problem." Later, Collymore is named publicly for the first time by Luton Town manager Mike Newell as the agent who offered him an illegal payment. Collymore also represents England cricketer Simon Jones.
2006 was also a dark year for Italian football. Below is an extract from

Corruption in football

Written by Alexis Franke

“2006 was a dark year for the Italian football nation. The former manager of FC Juventus Turin, one of the most popular teams in the league, was accused of manipulating games with the help of corrupt referees, players and officials. As a consequence, the team had to dismount to the second league and its last two-championship titles 2005 and 2006 were withdrawn. The manager was punished to 5 years of occupational ban. In total, 26 officials were accused.”

Closer to home:

Pride of Malaysian football in the docks as coach is charged for match-fixing 

Friday, 10 June 2011 08:40 JR Letchumanan (Klik4Malaysia.com)

Negeri Sembilan President Cup coach, Yusarman Yusof, 35, was charged with 21 counts of match-fixing by the Session Court two days ago, marking another unpleasant episode in Malaysian football.

He pleaded not guilty to giving RM24,900 as bribe to 11 players of the team between April 19 and 22.
Yusarman was accused of giving the players RM200 to RM2,000 each as an inducement to help and allow the Penang SDM Navy team to score in a match at the Bertam Stadium in Penang on April 21.

Eleven counts of giving bribes to fix a match were committed at the Cempaka Commercial Centre in Taman Cempaka, Senawang, at 5pm on April 22.

Nine counts were committed at the same place at 9pm on April 19, followed by another around Seremban at 10pm the same day.
Yusarman was charged under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine, five times, the value of the bribe, or a minimum of RM10,000, whichever is more.

My question is “Does corruption happen in top leagues like in the English Premier League and the Malaysian Super League?”.
Is the corruption in Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Spurs. Do players from these clubs do accept bribe to give away goals and games?
My thoughts are:
Corruption exists in lower leagues. I believe players, managers, officials, referees, agents and bookies are involved.
I cant seem to accept that world class players in the top leagues like Gerrard, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carragher, Lampard, Terry, Messi, Iniesta, Xabi, Eto, Sneider etc are on the take.
Maybe I am living in Lala land….. but I love the game too much to accept that bookies are involved and the passion that I have for football is based on something fake.

Hooha! 


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