Canadian author writes about match fixing...

[superbrad]

Interesting read - makes you wonder about the amount of times the Canadian MNT has been screwed....

(Gold cup semi vs. USA....)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i1gqSH9gYHveEsELi1Gnu5GJY6Mg

Canadian author lifts the lid on soccer and organized crime

3 days ago

Everywhere Canadian Declan Hill goes to promote his book "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime," people have questions about local soccer matches or competitions whose results seem out of order.

At recent stops in Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, Hill was quizzed about specific incidents of possible on-field shadiness. He had no inside information about the games in question, he notes, but says the sport is in trouble when such questions keep arising.

The beautiful game has clearly become tarnished on the professional level, he argues.

"What we have suddenly is this loss of credibility of the sport," Hill said in a telephone interview. "In every European country that you go to now, people are starting to look at the sport in a new way. And it's an almost an Asian way of looking at the sport in that they can't believe big results, extraordinary results. They can't believe what they're seeing anymore.

"That's a huge, huge problem for the sport."

Hill, 44, turned his focus on the subject after working on a "Fifth Estate" TV documentary that looked at possible links between Russian mobsters and Russian hockey players. Previously he had not thought of sports and organized crime as much of a match.

"Once we did that investigation, I was struck by how close the ties are and what goes on in that world," he explained.

After enrolling as a doctoral student at Oxford, he spent 4 1/2 years researching a book that took him far from the safe, hallowed university halls of Green College.

Travelling Asia in search of the "fixers," he says he rearranged the furniture of his hotel room and unscrewed the light bulb every night, to hinder possible intruders.

"This is very dangerous stuff," Hill said. "And I can't remember a single person in Asia not warning me, except for the fixers, to stop it. The cops, the prosecutors, the players, the officials, all these guys, at some point in the interview they would say 'You really should stop, you really should."'

Excerpts from his book have been serialized by the Daily Telegraph in England and Der Spiegel in Germany.

Hill, who was raised in England, offers 60 pages of notes and bibliography at the back of his book to support what he writes. But the evidence is really all over the soccer landscape - a casual Internet search of past or present match-fixing scandals uncovers investigations in Albania, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey and Vietnam.

In January, Interpol said a massive crackdown on illegal soccer gambling across Asia had resulted in 430 arrests and the closure of 272 underground gambling dens handling US$650 million in illegal bets.

Compare that to $92 million in bets handled by Las Vegas bookies on the last Super Bowl.

No wonder the head of the Asian Football Confederation has called match-fixing a "cancer."

"I had no idea of the scale and the height that the match fixers work at," said Hill.

"We know for certain there were approaches by fixers to players during that (2006) World Cup. We know the guys (fixers) have been going to the under-17 World Cups, the under-20 World Cups, the women's World Cup, the Olympic Games and these big World Cup tournaments.

"And our sources for that are not just the fixers, they're player and officials. So this is a constant and chronic attempt at corruption."

Hill reports the fixers would often enlist former players, who had easy access to teams, to act as middlemen. An influential player would be enlisted and serve as project manager, often drawing in a half-dozen teammates.

In Malaysia, quick-thinking fixers purchased winning lottery tickets off winners so they could give them to players, who could then claim they got the money legitimately.

Referees can also be enticed, with money and sex as the currency.

Towards the end of the book, Hill travels to Ghana to follow the trail of possible corruption surrounding Ghana's game against Brazil at the 2006 World Cup - the Ghana Football Association subsequently denied match-fixing, consulting local police and lawyers - and sits down with FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Hill said he knew the book would elicit response, often negative.

"Look, nobody ever gets thank you notes for exposing widespread corruption. The more controversial, the more hard-hitting your investigation, the more of a reaction and kickback there's going to be to you and against you. So no, nothing surprised me in terms of the reaction coming out. I knew there was going to be some negative comments from various people.

"What has actually heartened me a great deal is the e-mails I've received from ordinary Ghanaians saying thank you for doing this."

Hill, who splits time between Canada and England, says he has given up on the professional side of the game these days, arguing that footballing authorities have not adequately responded to what's going on.

A Zurich-based company called Early Warning System GmbH is employed by FIFA to try to stop organized crime from fixing matches. It uses information from worldwide bookies and betting companies, journalists, police, soccer officials and players.

Hill believes it's a step forward, but may not help in determining possible fixes at World Cups, where so much money is bet on one game, or in cases where the fixers are helping the favourite team win.

Hill, however, has a different focus these days. He's currently working on a children's book.

"Honestly it really was a long difficult investigation with a lot of sordid details .... At the end I just felt 'You know what I'd love to take a break," he said. "I'm still receiving information. I still get gambling guys approaching me and giving me information all the time, but I just want to take a break and write something fun."

"The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime," Declan Hill, McClelland & Stewart, $34.99.

[lowlander]

Thanks for that heads up, I will definitely be checking that out. I wonder if there is a chapter dedicated to Jack Warner.

[canso]

(Gold cup semi vs. USA....)

Was definitely "fixed" but not for the sake of the mafia gambling rings but for the sake of the fans who couldn't bear to see the USA's scrawny and pimply faced little brother get to dance on the big stage instead of them.

We're ugly and nobody likes us.[V]

[BearcatSA]

Lately, I've been pretty cynical about a lot of subjectively officiated pro team sports in general, not from an organized crime perspective but from a league wide view, i.e. trying to get the right teams in the finals. I wondered if Gary Bettmann and his minions sat back a few years ago and said, "We need to make sure that teams from our weakest hockey markets win the Stanley Cup." Sure it sounds absurd, but I guess that's what happens when you have watched too many Oliver Stone movies.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Massive Attack

Na, if the NHL were to fix it you would probably have Chicago play Pittsburgh or Washington in the Stanley Cup.

I realize this is the wrong thread for a discussion (and the mods can move it if they want), but I wonder how the NHL sh*tty market teams are going to weather this economic downturn?

[loyola]

I will repeat something I said at the time and that wasn't popular on this board but the GC call was far more tougher to make than most people think (ask a good ref in your city).

Maybe it was fixed but the call was still dififcult to make...

BTW, did anyone saw that offside Arsenal goal against Chelsea on sunday?

[VPjr]

^ I saw that offside goal...if that wasn't a fix, then that ref and his assistants should not be allowed to call a Prem match for a long time. It was a horrible error.

[Scottie]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

^ I saw that offside goal...if that wasn't a fix, then that ref and his assistants should not be allowed to call a Prem match for a long time. It was a horrible error.

...but if it was a fix they're fine to keep calling matches?

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by Scottie

...but if it was a fix they're fine to keep calling matches?

LOL...of course.

[Tuscan]

The commentators tried to pass it off as having deflected off a Blues defender's boot, but I didn't see anything of the sort in the replay. It was a brutal call and completely changed the outcome of the match. Goddamned Gunners, how dare they beat my beloved Mighty Blues??!!

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Tuscan

The commentators tried to pass it off as having deflected off a Blues defender's boot, but I didn't see anything of the sort in the replay. It was a brutal call and completely changed the outcome of the match. Goddamned Gunners, how dare they beat my beloved Mighty Blues??!!

That's the point I didn't understand (the commentator's point). They were completly wrong even if that had happened (a deflection on a Chelsea defender). A simple touch, a deflection, a misscleareance, an header by a defensive player isn't enough to rule a new possession and invalid an offside if the offensive player was offside when the ball was played to him initially (before the defensive player touched the ball).

That's why I'm referring to the GC goal because Oneywu header wasn't enough to rule a new possession, specially because Hume was challenging. Still, the call was incorrect because Atiba was onside when the ball was initially played to him.

[superbrad]

Check the ref's offshore bank accounts for recent deposits....

[Vic]

http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=782893.html?cid=rssfeed&att=uefa/index

[Sam]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

That's the point I didn't understand (the commentator's point). They were completly wrong even if that had happened (a deflection on a Chelsea defender). A simple touch, a deflection, a misscleareance, an header by a defensive player isn't enough to rule a new possession and invalid an offside if the offensive player was offside when the ball was played to him initially (before the defensive player touched the ball).

That's why I'm referring to the GC goal because Oneywu header wasn't enough to rule a new possession, specially because Hume was challenging. Still, the call was incorrect because Atiba was onside when the ball was initially played to him.

The reason the call was messed up IMO was I think the linesmen called it offside because for some crazy reason he must have though that Oneywu's header on to Hutchinson was actually a Canadian players, because Hutchinson was onside when the ball was played through.

[piltdownman]

Even odder call in the 1860 München (Nikolas Ledgerwood) match today, when the referee called back a goal for being offside, even though it was an own goal. The player kicked the ball into his own net, and somehow the referee called it offside, even though the linesman didn't flag it.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

This book was an explosive read. Really makes you look at the game differently. Since finishing it I've been scrolling through highlights of some of the games he provides evidence for being fixed and I'm finding it really hard to be skeptical. The Ghana matches against Italy and Brazil at the last world cup have a lot of funny business in them. Despite not being mentioned in the book, Derby's 2-1 win over Norwich in October saw a massive swing in the betting line just before halftime. Derby's last goal made it blatantly obvious. Just watch the Norwich keeper at 0:38.

Just as Hill explains in the book, keepers are always among the bought players on a fixing team and will run wildly out of their box to play balls they have zero chance of getting to.

[nolando]

I actually went out and got it based on the comments from this forum - a great read, disheartening but not altogether surprising when you really think of it.

It is so hard to distinguish from a goal that was somehow fixed and a goal that was just caused by complete stupidity. I don't doubt that both occur quite frequently, but even as a keen soccer fan and regular viewer, I find it hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Since Canada has been involved on at least one occasion in the past, is it at all possible that we have been involved in fixing (or on the receiving end) over the last twenty years? We have gifted a couple of terrible back passes from defenders in key games. I played defense - that imho is also an easy opportunity to throw a game without looking too obvious. Glaring keeper mistakes?

On the receiving end of things, how about the disgrace with OO in Edmonton? Could the fix have really been in?

After reading this book, in my mind this sort of business has gone from conspiracy theory type of stuff, to stuff that demands serious consideration, much like US politics (Iraq, 2004 election, etc).

[loyola]

The problem with the conspiracy theory for the 2004 Honduras game is that Honduras didn't even qualify for the next round. This doesn't mean there wasn't a fix but it doesn't help the theory either.

Anyways, those 2 late calls who went against us looked really weird, specially the PK call.

[Guest Jeffery S.]

Don't know if anyone has followed the recent press on two fixed matches in recent Spanish League history where squads seems to have gotten paid to lose. This is the first I have heard here of such cases, previously it always involved a club paying another --reportedly, supposedly-- to beat a rival even though playing for nothing. Almost always involving avoiding relegation from top flight.

These two new cases are serious and one is scandalous. Here is a short blog right-up on the cases, the one where Levante players deliberately lost to Bilbao is grave, as there is a recorded conversation where an ex-Bilbao player now in Poland, Descarga, discusses the payoff with a Bilbao director. And it comes out that they say in the conversation that "of course" Villar the Spanish Football Federation president, knew about the case (Villar is a Basque and former Bilbao player, known for a very corrupt administration characterized by influence peddling and misuse of funds). The match had some Levante players including former At. Madrid keeper Molina irate as they felt something fishing was going on, while Celta Vigo when down instead of Bilbao (that has made them furious, as they are still down in 2nd).

http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/reports-of-match-fixing-rock-spain.html

Reports of Match-Fixing Rock Spain

December 4th, 2008

Match fixing in football is, unfortunately, nothing new. Some may even say it’s par for the course, particularly if we’re talking about Eastern European football (Romania & Poland, I’m lookin’ at you). Oh, and Italy - Serie A has rivaled the WWE for legitimacy this decade. Even England has failed to go unscathed, with a former Prem player admitting to getting sent off to pay off debts to his bookie.

The newest culprit? Spain, both La Liga and the Segunda. Two games from the past two seasons are being looked at, which means four teams have some splainin’ to do.

The bigger of the two involves Athletic Bilbao and Levante, as it’s being posed that Levante threw a 2-0 win to Athletic on the final day of the 06/07 season enabling the Basque side to avoid relegation, a fate they’ve never tasted, and one which sent Celtic Viga to the Segunda.

On Wednesday, the station Popular TV released a recording of an alleged conversation between Levante president Julio Romero and midfielder Inaki Descarga which concerned a payment some of the team were said to have received for throwing the match.

Romero said Thursday that there had been no agreement with Bilbao. He also denied holding a conversation with federation president Angel Maria Villar, a former Bilbao player who Romero was alleged to have informed of the purported match-fixing.

As expected, there are lots of denials and a lot of people saying “I’m going to sue the living **** out of you”, but it doesn’t get much more damning than recorded evidence.

The other game in question is the final Segunda weekend’s fixture between Malaga and Tenerife, a 2-1 win for Malaga which saw them achieve promotion to La Liga for this season (where they’re surprisingly well - top half of the table). This one’s a bit buzarre because it’s being areported Jesuli of Tenerife has admitted to taking to throw the game….but didn’t play. Unless he pulled a Lawrence Taylor and bought skanky hookers for all of his teammates the night before the match, whether the integrity of the actual game was compromised sounds up for debate. Though Malaga’s suits are surely up to their eyeballs in ****e, not to mention litigation.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

I'd say that MLS is extremely vulnerable to match fixing. The positions essential to fixing a match (defenders and goalkeepers) are the most underpaid players in the league. If I'm on a developmental contract making welfare coin I'd have a tough time turning down 10 grand to play a striker onside a couple of times

[Guest Jeffery S.]

quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan

I'd say that MLS is extremely vulnerable to match fixing. The positions essential to fixing a match (defenders and goalkeepers) are the most underpaid players in the league. If I'm on a developmental contract making welfare coin I'd have a tough time turning down 10 grand to play a striker onside a couple of times

The susceptible games are those involving relegation or promotion, those in smaller leagues where there is betting going on in a big way, crucial matches at major tournaments (needing a result from another team in your group on the last day of that stage in a Eurocup, World Cup). In MLS little money is involved in winning or or losing, there is not much betting, and no relegation. So I doubt you are going to see them affected by such scandals. Not yet at least.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

The susceptible games are those involving relegation or promotion, those in smaller leagues where there is betting going on in a big way, crucial matches at major tournaments (needing a result from another team in your group on the last day of that stage in a Eurocup, World Cup). In MLS little money is involved in winning or or losing, there is not much betting, and no relegation. So I doubt you are going to see them affected by such scandals. Not yet at least.

Some games are fixed by clubs to get a result and others are fixed by criminals purely to make money. I'm talking about the latter.

[Guest Jeffery S.]

quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan

Some games are fixed by clubs to get a result and others are fixed by criminals purely to make money. I'm talking about the latter.

No, what you said made sense, extremely low salaries, guys playing for 18,000 a year busting their butts besides guys making 20 times more, and not always justifying their salary. That alone could piss a player off, make him vulnerable. But I am not sure that those guys, who have the ethic of playing for the love of it more strongly ingrained, are any more susceptible than those making good money. I say that because you look at some cases and you see that many players making a decent living have been tempted, like these guys 1st division Spain I mention. You have cases of someone making 300,000 a year playing to lose to make 20,000 more or something, it really makes no sense, it is such a small percentage of their salary that they are boosting. But they do it, like that NBA ref, those guys make good money but can still fall into the temptation.