Yes, RTG has been off-line for a couple of weeks or so, because we’re in the process of setting up a website, as part of our on-going campaign. So, do bear with us with our, temporarily, irregular posts to the RTG blog.
Now that we are in the “business end” of the football season, what’s been happening? To some, RTG’s musings on how the football industry would become more corrupt and more difficult to control with the ever increasing amount of money sloshing around it, seemed like too much scare mongering . Yet, in the last couple of weeks, a Premier League player has admitted to getting himself sent off deliberately, as a pay off for his own substantial gambling losses. Gone are the days when you bet simply on a result or who scored. Nowadays, you can bet on winning/losing margins, number of corners, number of red and yellow cards being brandished, time of first thrown in or corner – and a whole host of aspects of the game that RTG has never come across or considered. RTG not being of the gambling fraternity, except for Grand Nationals (lost again on Saturday!).
It’s clear that the FA, in their tireless pursuit of more and more money, courted gambling organisations for sponsorships and joint deals. In this spirit, it also relaxed the rule on players betting on matches, as long as they didn't bet on their own teams' involvement. Of course, given that gambling is legal in the UK, it would be foolish to attempt a ban on players gambling in general, but it seems very appropriate to impose a blanket ban on players and associated management and back room staff within football. What recent revelations have shown us is that the English league's bribery scandals of the sixties and the case of Ossie Ardiles' Swindon team, who were denied promotion to the top division, because of the gambling misdemeanours of a previous manager, were not isolated cases. It is hard to imagine that they are not taking place now.
Now that we are in the “business end” of the football season, what’s been happening? To some, RTG’s musings on how the football industry would become more corrupt and more difficult to control with the ever increasing amount of money sloshing around it, seemed like too much scare mongering . Yet, in the last couple of weeks, a Premier League player has admitted to getting himself sent off deliberately, as a pay off for his own substantial gambling losses. Gone are the days when you bet simply on a result or who scored. Nowadays, you can bet on winning/losing margins, number of corners, number of red and yellow cards being brandished, time of first thrown in or corner – and a whole host of aspects of the game that RTG has never come across or considered. RTG not being of the gambling fraternity, except for Grand Nationals (lost again on Saturday!).
It’s clear that the FA, in their tireless pursuit of more and more money, courted gambling organisations for sponsorships and joint deals. In this spirit, it also relaxed the rule on players betting on matches, as long as they didn't bet on their own teams' involvement. Of course, given that gambling is legal in the UK, it would be foolish to attempt a ban on players gambling in general, but it seems very appropriate to impose a blanket ban on players and associated management and back room staff within football. What recent revelations have shown us is that the English league's bribery scandals of the sixties and the case of Ossie Ardiles' Swindon team, who were denied promotion to the top division, because of the gambling misdemeanours of a previous manager, were not isolated cases. It is hard to imagine that they are not taking place now.
It’s worth pointing out that in the US, players are absolutely forbidden to bet on their sport. This situation came about mainly as a result of the infamous 1919 Baseball world series, where Chicago Black Sox players were bribed to throw the series. It is also strictly enforced. One of Baseball’s all time greats as both player and manager, Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds was thrown out of baseball and excluded from the Baseball Hall of Fame. His crime? Betting on his own team to win!
A few seasons back, rumours persisted of an odd incident involving Manchester United and West Ham in a Premier League televised match. If RTG’s memory serves it right, straight from the West Ham kick off, Frank Lampard – then of West Ham – belted the ball out to touch. There was much talk of there having been money riding on the timing of the first throw in of the match. Rumours, we know, but with the Premier League’s avowed intention of investigating recent claims, they might just want to have a look at that incident too.
And it’s not just in our country. Last week, the Portuguese FA announced that they were investigating corruption and bribery at Portugal’s top club Porto. This allegedly involved Porto officials making bribes to opponents to throw matches. Interest in this country is mainly because the allegations stem from the period that a certain Jose Mourinho was in charge.
It is clear that safeguards, in this commercially crazy era, must be put in place to protect the integrity of Football. That’s why RTG believes that a blanket ban on footballers gambling on their own sport must be put in place – with stringent punishments being meted out to those transgressors. If, like RTG, you believe that football integrity is under threat from coporate interests, then please join the Reclaim the Game cause by signing up for our campaign (on the right of this page).
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