It was a punch to the gut for those who follow the beautiful game, but perhaps one we should have been expecting.
Canadian investigative journalist Declan Hill, famed for his work with CBC Radio, CBC Television and the BBC Radio World Service on such weighty topics as the Mafia in Canada, ethnic conflicts in Iraq and blood feuds in Kosovo, ignited a global controversy with the Sept. 2 release of his book The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime, which details his investigations into match-fixing in soccer and suggests that four games in the 2006 World Cup may have been thrown at the whims of betting syndicates.
The World Cup is more than just a trophy. It’s the Holy Grail of international soccer, and the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing even the Olympics. Every four years, diehard and casual soccer fans alike tune in for what’s almost a religious celebration. Now, Hill’s suspicions and the detailed evidence he presents of possible match-fixing in four World Cup matches enter the picture, suggesting that the priest is not only stark naked, but also kicks puppies—revelations that would cause most to question their faith.
Will we still be able to enjoy the beauty and purity of a top-class soccer match while wondering if what we’re seeing is real competition, or merely a result pre-ordained by a shady betting syndicate? Unless drastic action is taken to stamp out the corruption around soccer, it may be difficult to ever again have that level of faith in the game.
The integrity of competition is incredibly important to sports. The assurance that what we are seeing is a true contest between opposing sides where anyone can prevail is what separates professional sports from fixed entertainment like the WWE, where outcomes are decided in advance as per what makes the best story. Even the appearance of match-fixing casts a pall over an entire sport, one from which it is difficult to recover. Consider the recent accusations of NBA referee Tim Donaghy that the league intervened to stretch out a playoff series, which struck a blow to the sport even without conclusive proof.
We shouldn’t be shocked that this happened in the World Cup, though. Investigative reporter Andrew Jennings had already exposed the corruption and scandal within world soccer’s governing body in his 2006 book, Foul! The Secret World Of FIFA: Bribes, Vote-Rigging and Ticket Scandals, and the detailed investigations into match-fixing scandals in Italy, Germany and Brazil in the last three years alone suggested other deep problems within the system.
The incredible amounts of money bet on every World Cup match provide plenty of motivation for betting syndicates like the one Hill described to attempt to influence matches. Still, these investigations, important as they were, were not at the highest level. Logically, we should have guessed that these revelations were coming from the evidence of corruption throughout the sport, but questioning the integrity of the World Cup is almost sacrilege to soccer fans. It’s not easy to be the one who stands up and shouts, “The emperor has no clothes!”
The question is how to restore the fans’ confidence in the game. Hill told German news magazine Bild a force of professional investigators is necessary to eliminate the corruption, and that’s a good step in the right direction. However, FIFA head Joseph “Sepp” Blatter and his confederates are more concerned about getting rid of this story to preserve their image, and are even threatening Hill with legal action.
Shooting the messenger is the wrong move here. There are deep, deep problems within soccer, and perhaps Hill’s revelations are only scratching the surface of what’s really going on. Until a systematic international effort is made to remove bribery, match-fixing and corruption from soccer, the beautiful game will continue to get uglier.
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