Bribery/Gambling Scandal - Late 80s

[Schoolboy]

Can anyone provide any details of the scandal that hit the MNT in the late 80s?...I was still pretty young then...but I remember it had something to do with the MNT tour of South East Asia...I remember Norman being suspended from the MNT for awhile...Who was involved and what went down?

[Marc]

Some guys conspired to throw a game, Paul James blew the whistle. I think Segota was involved. I don't have my historyu of canadian soccer book around so some others can fill in the details to a fuller extent.

[CanadasBest]

It was 1986 at a tournament in Signapore after the World Cup. Four players took bribes to throw a game and were suspended by the CSA. They were Chris Cheuden, Hector Marinaro, David Norman and Igor Vrablic.

[Schoolboy]

thanks guys...I know Dave Norman came back for a couple of Caps...but the others didn't...this is probably why Hector was never given another chance...must have been tough for Paul James to come out and blow the whistle on the guys...I fear this kind've situation happens alot but it is always hidden

[Guest Dave]

I often wonder about bribery of officials. It may happen more often than most people suspect. Given Canada's recent experience in WCQ vs Honduras (both games) and Costa Rica, one has to be a little suspicious.

[Gian-Luca]

Segota definitely wasn't involved.

[Guest Ed]

From an earlier round on this same topic. Comes up every couple of years.

20 years ago yesterday we qualified for WC 86. This happened after our WC appearance. We were ranked about 40th in the world at the time and were heavy favourites to win every game. Gotta love Teflon Kevan's comments to wrap it up:

"This is not going to affect our plans. Our national team program for the World Cup is more aggressive than ever."

Yes we've been so pleased with your efforts in that regard these last 20 years.

Here's the article.

_________________________________________________

November 4, 1987

National soccer player wins immunity; agrees to testify in bribery case

A member of Canada's national soccer team has been granted immunity and will be called to testify against four former teammates charged with accepting bribes at an international tournament.

After a 10-month investigation, the RCMP's commercial crimes section Tuesday charged the four former team members with conspiracy to accept a bribe to fix the outcome of games at the Merlion Cup tournament in August and September 1986 in Singapore.

Three of the players were also charged with bringing into Canada money obtained outside the country through the commission of a crime.

Another member of the national squad, Paul James, won't be charged but will be called as a Crown witness, RCMP Insp. Claude Lemay told the Citizen Tuesday.

Lemay refused to say whether James's immunity from prosecution was granted in return for his testimony.

Ron Perrick, James's Vancouver lawyer, said today the player voluntarily gave the RCMP a statement earlier this year but has made no agreement with the Mounties in exchange for his testimony.

"Paul didn't know about the fact that he wasn't charged until the news broke yesterday," Perrick said. "The fact that there was no charge is not because there was a deal made. It can't be made to show that he has turned, as the American networks would say, state's evidence to get immunity."

Police won't say how much money is involved in the charges, although an earlier report said it was about $100,000.

Kevan Pipe, executive director of the Canadian Soccer Association, said James, 23, will stay with the team.

"Paul is a fine, outstanding young player and he will continue to be a member of the national team should his playing abilities continue to justify his selection," Pipe said.

None of those charged have played with the national team since the Merlion Cup event.

The team's coach, Bob Bearpark, said Tuesday he saw "nothing that was obvious" to indicate some of his players might have been trying to lose games in Singapore last summer.

But Bearpark, who has coached the national side for 41/2 years, said players were warned about the possibility of being offered a payoff.

"We were aware of the fact that some players at the tournament were offered bribes and we cautioned our players about it," he said. "It was very widespread."

Canada was the favorite in the six-team tournament.

After beating Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, Canada tied North Korea and lost to China in the final round-robin game. That set up a rematch with North Korea in the semifinals.

Canada lost that game 2-0 and concluded the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Singapore in the consolation final.

Federal Sports Minister Otto Jelinek, who earlier said he hadn't ruled out lifetime bans from competitive soccer, refused comment Tuesday because the case is before the courts.

But he promised he would take "appropriate action" once the court proceedings are completed.

He also said he doubted the incident would tarnish Canada's reputation in the international sports community.

Pipe said he is "glad and relieved" charges have finally been laid.

"It's certainly not a great thing to happen but we've done everything possible to bring this to its proper conclusion," he said. "This is not going to affect our plans. Our national team program for the World Cup is more aggressive than ever."

Charged with conspiracy are:

- David Norman, 25, of Coquitlam, B.C. He played last season with the Winnipeg Fury of the Canadian Soccer League.

- Hector Marinaro, 23, of Mississauga. He plays with the Toronto Blizzard of the Canadian Soccer League.

- Igor Vrablic, 22, of Waterloo. He played last season with a professional team in Greece.

- Christopher Hoyer Chueden, 26, of Surrey, B.C. He plays with the Los Angeles Lasers of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

- Norman, Marinaro and Vrablic are also charged with bringing into Canada money obtained outside the country through a crime.

The men are to appear in Ottawa provincial court Dec. 16

[Soju]

You mean people used to have to PAY us to lose games? []

[Metro]

Nice to see Kevan Pipe was a member of the executive board as far back as the mid 80s. I guess there are no elections for his position...[xx(]

Ed, can you provide the source of that article?

[Free kick]

Was it the Fifth Estate that broke the story? I recall first hearing about it on one of their shows back at that time. Unless I am mistaken, it hit the news afterwards and so might have the investigations. Can anyone confirm?

Its a real shame because a player like Vrablic was very talented and we were shallow in the goal scoring area. Can't help but think how the dissapearance of the NASL and the income that it provided contributed to this event.

[ANC2]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

Was it the Fifth Estate that broke the story? I recall first hearing about it on one of their shows back at that time. Unless I am mistaken, it hit the news afterwards and so might have the investigations. Can anyone confirm?

Its a real shame because a player like Vrablic was very talented and we were shallow in the goal scoring area. Can't help but think how the dissapearance of the NASL and the income that it provided contributed to this event.

James took the money at first but got cold feet and eventually sang on the rest.

[beachesl]

Here is another article following. It has to be strssed that these guys were never convicted and have to be assumed innocent of any crime.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

November 28, 1989

CSA to decide fate of charged players

The Canadian Soccer Association is expected to decide in the next several weeks whether to hold a disciplinary hearing for four players charged with conspiracy to accept bribes after a 1986 tournament in Singapore.

Public relations director Hugh Mitchener said a ruling by the Supreme Court of Ontario last week left the option open to the board.

Lawyers for the CSA had asked the court to decide whether its bylaws allow a committee to discipline the players.

The court ruled a committee could not hold disciplinary hearings, but the association's directors do have that power.

"The board of directors acted in good faith in attempting to deal with this serious problem in a fair and unbiased manner and in a way that would satisfy all the requirements of natural justice," the court ruled.

The players, David Norman and Chris Chueden of B.C., Hector Marinaro of Mississauga and Igor Vrablic of Waterloo, had criminal charges against them quashed last year when an Ottawa judge ruled he did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

Mitchener said the board, if it did discipline the players, would have the power to suspend them from playing soccer in Canada or internationally.

It would also have the power to fine them, he said.

Three of the four players are still playing professional soccer.

The CSA called the RCMP in to investigate after rumors began to spread about a conspiracy to fix games during a 1986 tournament in Singapore.

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discussion cross-reference:

singa/scandal

[beachesl]

quote:Originally posted by ANC2

I'm not sure this is true. As I seem to remember, I don't think anybody actually ended up witht he money, it was just in the pre-game discussion stage where some agreement may or may not have taken place. The trouble is, there was never any public inquiry, so anything beyond bare facts of the two articles is pure speculation on our part.

[Schoolboy]

So basically Paul James was as guilty as the rest...Isn't he or wasn't he coaching York?...I wouldn't hire someone who was even remotely engaged in something like this at the highest level...All the times I met Paul - he has always come off as a good down to earth player and coach

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by Schoolboy

So basically Paul James was as guilty as the rest...Isn't he or wasn't he coaching York?...I wouldn't hire someone who was even remotely engaged in something like this at the highest level...All the times I met Paul - he has always come off as a good down to earth player and coach

We don't know that Schoolboy. IMO, if he was, he would not have been given the opportunities he has had with the CSA. He did blow the whistle but do any of us know whether he took money .. and gave it back? IMO, it seems that he did not.

db

[G-Man]

quote:Originally posted by Soju

You mean people used to have to PAY us to lose games? []

BAAAAHAAAA. time to change to pants.