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A few weeks ago, Italy was rocked by one of the biggest football scandals in recent years. EuroFootball.com will try to briefly overview the biggest European and World football scandals of recent years.
Italy
In Italy, the football scandal erupted after the press obtained recordings of conversations between the general manager of the Italian champions Turin's "Juventus", Luciano Moggi, and a federation representative responsible for appointing referees for "Serie A" matches. Immediately after that, all the members of the Turin club's board stepped down one after the other - the club manager Luciano Moggi, president Roberto Bettega, and administrator Antonio Giraudo.
Because of this scandal, after 5 years, the president of the Italian Football Federation, Franco Carraro, also stepped down from his position. He motivated his resignation by not wanting to hinder the federation in resolving all the serious problems that arose in Italian football as quickly as possible.
Later on, another fact came to light. It turned out that some Italian club players, including the national team's and the "Juventus" goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, might have been involved in a betting scandal. Although the player himself denies participating in illegal bets, an investigation is currently underway, and if it is revealed that Buffon did bet on football results, he may lose the right to play in the World Cup.
Supposedly, besides "Juventus," other famous "Serie A" clubs such as "Milan," "Lazio," and "Fiorentina" are also involved in the scandal. However, if it is revealed that the club is guilty, the Turin club may face the most severe punishment. It is speculated that not only this year's title but also the title won in the previous season could be taken away from the team, and the club itself could be removed from "Serie A" and forced to play in "Serie B" or even "Serie C" championship.
The Italian referees did not escape punishment either. The country's referees' association temporarily disqualified seven referees and prohibited the referee who was supposed to officiate at the World Cup matches, Massimo De Santis, and his assistants from attending the tournament.
Germany
A scandal rocked German football last fall, as the host of the upcoming World Cup, Germany's football scene, was shaken by the biggest scandal in the past 30 years. It was then revealed that referee Robert Hoyzer was involved in illegal activities by prearranging match results, thus helping a mafia group profit.
Hoyzer, along with another referee Dominik Marks, made decisions during matches that led to the desired results by those who paid him money. Later, it was revealed that several "Bundesliga" players were also involved in this dirty game.
After the scandal was uncovered, Heyzer was punished and sentenced to two years and five months in prison. A former "Bundesliga" player Steffen Karl also received a nine-month imprisonment for his involvement in the scandal.
Belgium
Fans of five Belgian top-division clubs are currently restless, as their supported team is being watched and investigated by the Belgian police. This investigation was launched after suspicions were raised due to a very high odds offered by the betting company Betfair for the match between "La Louviere" and "St Truiden," which ended in a 3-1 victory for the former.
Although both clubs deny that the match was fixed, the Belgian Football Federation continues the investigation. Earlier, the national Belgian television VRT provided information that even seven matches of this season's Belgian league could have been predetermined.
Austria
The coach of one of Austria's most prestigious teams, Graz's "Sturm," Michael Petrovic, and one of the team's strikers, Bojan Filipovic, are accused of allegedly taking bribes from a German mafia syndicate engaged in illegal betting activities and in return helping matches end with the desired result demanded by the Germans.
Both the coach and the player deny these reports, but the Austrian Football Federation has launched a thorough investigation and is closely monitoring the activities of the "Sturm" team.
Czech Republic
Even the Czech Republic, which occupies the second place in the world football team rankings, did not escape scandals. Seven referees of this country and representatives of three teams were sentenced to prison after it was revealed that by illegal means, they helped the first division team "Slovacko" win games and collect points in the 2003/2004 season.
The sports director of another Czech team, "Viktoria Zizkov," Ivan Hornik, was fined 900,000 Czech crowns and sentenced to seven months in prison after it was revealed that he offered bribes to Czech league referees and opponents.
Brazil
A football scandal erupted in Brazil after a referee admitted to fixing games and making favorable decisions on the field. After his statement, the results of 10 matches in the top Brazilian league were annulled and later replayed.
During that time, the teams "Corinthians" and "Internacional," who led the championship, played an uneven number of matches, as the former refused to replay all matches. After the end of the championship, the title was won by the "Corinthians" players in the last round. "Internacional" tried to file a protest, claiming that the champions were declared illegally due to the uneven number of replayed matches, but the leaders of the Brazilian Football Federation did not change the results.
Vietnam
The Vietnamese police took strict actions against six Vietnamese footballers accused of fixing matches during the 2005 East Asian Championship. According to the local press, two players admitted to convincing Vietnamese footballers to not score more than one goal in the match against Myanmar, allowing betting companies to offer attractive odds for Vietnam to win by more than one goal. As it later turned out, the match ended with a 1-0 victory for Vietnam.
