The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime
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For more on Carolina Salgado, see Salgado, Carolina, and Maria Fernanda Freitas. Eu, Carolina – A História Verdadeira. 14th ed. Lisbon: Don Quixote, 2006.
“Compared with what I saw and experienced at No Calor da Noite …”
Staff writer. “Portugal Ups Ante in Match-fixing Probe.” Agence France Presse. December 15, 2006.
For more on da Costa and the general corruption of Portuguese league, see Marinho, Neves. Golpe de Estadio. Lisbon: Terramar, 1998. Also available online at www.anti-corrupcao.150m.com.
See also Staff writer. “Police Raid HQ of European Champions Porto.” Agence France Presse. December 3, 2004.
“João Vale e Azevedo, the former president of the top club Benfica …” Broadbent, Rick. “Philosophy of the Bullfight Places Supporters on Horns of a Dilemma.” The Times (London). May 8, 2007. 81.
Fixing 1984 semifinal of Cup Winner’s Cup
Hatton, Barry. “Porto in a Storm.” Guardian (London). February 28, 1997. 4.
Hughes, Rob. “For Corruption Investigators, Soccer Offers a Busy Agenda.” International Herald Tribune. January 15, 1997. 18.
Portugal woke up on April 20, 2004
Staff writer. “Police Hold 16 in Portuguese Probe.” CNN. April 20, 2004.
Staff writer. “Portugal Ups Ante in Match-fixing Probe.” Agence France Presse. December 15, 2006.
“It is time to once and for all to establish …”
Lisbon, Eduardo Goncalves and Denis Campbell. “Portuguese Football Champions Shaken by Corruption Charges.” Observer (London). December 26, 2004. 16.
CHAPTER 13: THE GUNS ARE FACING THE WRONG WAY
The story of the unsuccessful defence of Malaysia and Singapore might serve as a case study in organizational mismanagement and ineptitude. Two books that cover it well are Colin Smith’s Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II (London: Penguin, 2005). The quote “better enemy than the Japanese” is on page 54. Also, Warren, Alan. Singapore 1942: Britain’s Greatest Defeat. London: Hambledon and London, 2002.
The Japanese side is a case study of good leadership, clarity of purpose, and communication. Masanobu Tsuji, who was one of the Japanese staff officers who both planned and fought in the campaign, wrote Singapore 1941–1942: The Japanese Version of the Malayan Campaign of World War II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
A good fictional account of the entire debacle is J.G. Farrell’s 1978 book The Singapore Grip, recently reprinted by the New York Review of Books.
“The growth in this field has been incredible …”
Interview with B 16, June 2006.
“The power of this industry [legal and illegal] is mind-boggling …”
Interview with David Velazquez, June 2007.
Neteller Case:
Court documents from: United States District Court Southern District of New York: United States versus Neteller PLC Defendant, July 18, 2007.
Although Neteller did not participate in gambling in any way, as it is merely an international payment conduit, the two executives pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal conspiracy in the summer of 2007.
“We are still behind the eight ball with the Internet …”
Interview with SO 25, March 2004.
Information that almost every bettor knew …
For example, almost any British punter knows that in the third-ranked soccer tournament in England – the Carling Cup – the big teams would give their younger, less established players a chance to play. It produced some upsets, as young teams of Manchester United or Arsenal players were sometimes beaten by regular squads of other lower-ranked teams. It was a phenomenon that was well known in the U.K. But in China, the market generally did not know this and would bet as if the regular Arsenal or Manchester United team was playing a much weaker team.
Discussion of gambling markets
Interviews with B 1, 2, 6, 7 13, 14, 16, 21
CHAPTER 14: NO POINT IN GOING OUT THERE
Grobbelaar Case
Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd and another. House of Lords, [2002] UKHL 40, [2002] 4 All ER 732, [2002] 1 WLR 3024, 1–4 July, October 24, 2002.
Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd and another. Court of Appeal (Civil Division) [2001] EWCA Civ. 33, [2001] 2 All ER 437, December 4–8, 2000 and January 18, 2001.
Thomas, David. Foul Play: The Inside Story of the Biggest Corruption Trial in British Sporting History. London: Bantam Press, 2003.
“Do you think I went out to Kuala Lumpur on the off chance?
Thomas, 184–185.
“When The Sun returned from the first trip to the Far East without any solid leads …”
Thomas, 365.
Did the British Police visit southeast Asia?
Interviews with LE 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10.
Triad Trial
Booth, Martin. The Dragon Syndicates: The Global Phenomenon of the Triads. London: Bantam Books, 2000. 444–79.
Connett, David. “Triads Victim ‘Foiled Murder Attempt’” Independent (London). October 15, 1992. 9.
——. “Triad ‘Hit-man’ Had Two Attempts to Shoot Rival,” Independent (London). October 17, 1992. 4.
Pallister, David. “Triad Hood Lists Crimes.” Guardian (London). October 15, 1992. 2.
Wood, Joe. “Triad Risk Death to Reveal Their Blood Vows.” Evening Standard (London). October 15, 1992. 18.
Floodlights Case
Thomas, 5–6.
Bennetto, Jason. “Gambler Guilty of Football Sabotage.” Independent (London). August 21, 1999. 5.
Chaudhary, Vivek, and Linus Gregoriadis. “Floodlights Scam to Beat Bookies.” Guardian (London). August 21, 1999. 7.
Peachley, Paul. “Gambling Fanatics Attracted by Glamour of English Game.” Press Association, August 20, 1999. 4.
——. “Soccer Match Blackout Plot Men Jailed.” Press Association. August 25, 1999.
Gregoriadis, Linus and Vivek Chaudhary. “Syndicate ‘sabotaged matches.’” Guardian (London). August 18, 1999. 4.
Armstrong, Jeremy. “Triad Behind Football ‘Fix’; Plot to Cash in on Abandoned Games.” Scottish Daily Record (Edinburgh). August 21, 1999. 7.
Frankfurt Trial
“Four Players Approached; Investigators Say Match-fixing Scandal Could Widen.” Associated Press. March 13, 2006.
“Eight Men on Trial for Alleged Match Fixing in Germany.” Associated Press. January 12, 2007.
“We think he left the country …”
Interview with LE 19, July 2007.
“No one wants to know about this case …”
Interview with LE 13, June 2006.
“At first, they wanted to help. But as the trial started …”
Interview with LE 9, July 2004.
CHAPTER 15: THE STORY OF PAL
In your evidence in the trial-within-a-trial, you told the judge you made millions [from match-fixing]?
[1998] 3 SLR, Rajendran s/o Kurusamy v Public Prosecutor (Singapore)
“Any game, anywhere in the world, I could fix it,”
All interviews excerpts in this chapter from interview with Kurusamy, September 2005.
“He is a very dangerous character …
Interview LE, June 2005.
“I believe they let Vana go …”
Interview with SO, May 2005.
“Pal? He is a chicken gangster …”
Interview with C 2, June 2005.
Lutz Pfannenstiel case and attack with field hockey stick
Banks, Tony. “Football: German Faced Worldwide Ban after FIFA Chief Put Boot In.” Express (London). December 29, 2003. 53.
Players threatened …
Desira, Peter. “Striker Confident of Beating Charge.” Herald Sun (Melbourne). October 11, 2000. 78.
Staff writer. “15 Players, Six Clubs Linked to Singapore Match-fixing.” Agence France Presse. August 30, 2000.
“It was because people were grateful to me …
[1998] 3 SLR, Rajendran s/o Kurusamy v Public Prosecutor (
Singapore).
“I am not stupid. I knew the game was fixed …”
Interview with R 2, May 2005
Pal contacted me. He was speaking Tamil.
Malaysian police confession, 1994–1995.
“At night there were people being raped …”
Banks, 53.
“One week before the game, Uncle Jimmie would contact me …”
Malaysian police confession, 1994–1995.
“I was walking around in Kuala Lumpur …”
Malaysian police confession, 1994–1995.
The Blind Man
Williams, 120–132.
Interview with J 3, May 2005.
Racecourse fixers
Interviews with B 2; J 18, 19; O 6; C 3, April to May, December 2005.
A fight inside the dressing room of Selangor …
Interview with P2, May 2005.
“Here a runner can also be a bookie …”
Interview with C 2, December 2005.
Alleged Cameroon Fix in 1982 World Cup
Beha, Oliviero, and Roberto Chiodi. Mundialgate. Rome: Avagliana Editore, 2005.
10 December 1994, I contacted my fixer
Malaysian Police confession, 1994–1995.
Kurusamy and Jagannathan trial and “Soccer is a sport with a wide following …”
[1998] 3 SLR, Rajendran s/o Kurusamy & Ors v Public Prosecutor, (Yong Pung How CJ), High Court, Magistrate’s Appeal, Nos. 237/97/01–05, March 19 and July 8, 1998.
“Pal continued to match-fix …”
Interview with LE 4, May 2005.
“We had agents working the Asian market, they were swamped …”
Interview with Mike Saunders, January 2008.
CHAPTER 16: BEHIND THE DOOR
“Look, these things are not coincidences …”
Boock, Richard, and Stephen Fleming. Balance of Power. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett, 2004. 178.
Fixing at the SEA Games
Staff writer. “The Stench from Hanoi.” Manila Standard (Manila). November 18, 2005. Available at www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=editorial_nov18_2005.
Staff writer. “Medal-fixing Allegations Tarnish South East Asian Games.” Agence France Presse. November 30, 2005.
“Funny you should mention that game, because it was very odd …”
Interview with B 6, April 2006.
CHAPTER 18: A SMALL TOWN IN GERMANY
“FIFA dismisses …”
Bond, David, and David and Raoul Simons. “Football: FIFA Gamble over Far East Betting Rings.” The Evening Standard (London). May 27, 2002. 77.
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself …”
Galeano, Eduardo. Soccer in Sun and Shadow. Trans. Mark Fried. London: Verso, 1999. 1.
“FIFA had not established any specific rules to limit …”
Bond, David, and Raoul Simons. “Football: FIFA Gamble over Far East Betting Rings.” Evening Standard (London). May 27, 2002. 77.
“The best moment I have had with Ghanaian football …”
Interview with Sam Arday and Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, June 2006.
“This is the problem in the whole of Africa …”
Interview with Sam Arday and Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, June 2006.
At the senior level, close to one hundred Ghanaian players are playing … Figure of just under a hundred Ghanaian footballers from www.eufo.de/football/div/africa/gha.htm.
Bochum Disaster story
Interview with Michael Oti Adjei, June 2006.
“We have to defend very well …”
Interview with Stephen Appiah, June 2006.
Togo problems
Copnall, James. “Bonus Row Haunts Failed Togo Bid.” BBC Online. June 19, 2006. Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5096054.stm.
Doyle, Paul. “Togo 0 Switzerland 2.” Guardian (London). Online edition. June 19, 2006. Available at http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/minbymin/0,,1788338,00.html.
Nigeria and Ghana banquet
“Nigeria: Aftermath of Odili’s Gift …” Africa News. November 24, 2001.
CHAPTER 19: THE GOLD COAST
Links between politics and football in Ghana
Interview with Craig Waite, an Indiana University scholar, who is studying the connections between Ghanaian politics and football, Accra, February 2008.
See also Bediako, Ken. The National Soccer League of Ghana: The Full Story, 1956–1995. Accra: published by the author, 1996.
Coaching in a famine story
Interview with Coach Frederick Osam Duodu, July 2007.
Ghanaian poverty levels
Figures for poverty given in “EarthTrends: The Environmental Information Portal” at http://earthtrends.wri.org/povlinks/country/ghana.php.
Abédi Pelé match-fixing scandal
For a selection of typical newspaper articles see:
“Probe This Football Scandal.” March 29, 2007. www.myjoyonline.com/archives/sports/200703/2943.asp
Quaye, Michael. “Soccer Fraud.” March 30, 2007.
“Maestro of Disgrace.” April 3, 2007. Available at www.ghanaweb.com/ghanahomepage/sportsarchive/artikel.php?ID=121841.
The Ghana Football Association has produced a variety of press releases on the affair, and the president of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, mentioned it in his own blog at www.ghanafa.org/blogs/president/default.asp.
Press release of the Ghana Football Association. “Four charged with match-fixing.” April 2, 2007. Also “FA demotes, bans and fines clubs.” April 11, 2007.
http://www.ghanafa.org/news/archiveread.asp?contentid=2114
An Internet discussion forum that discussed Abédi Pelé and the game can be found at http://discussions.ghanaweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=52096.
In fact, there were so many goals scored that various newspapers covering the story could not agree on exactly how many goals had been scored with various newspapers reporting the scores as 26–0, 27–0 or even 29–0.
For some of the details of the previous alleged match-fixing scandals see Agyepong, Kofi. “Hearts Threaten FA with Legal Action.” Available at www.ghanafa.org/news/200511/344.asp.
“Kotoko Emerge Ghana Champions, Hearts Protest.” Pan African News Agency (PANA). November 11, 2005.
“I’m surprised that people are lambasting those 4 teams …”
www.myjoyonline.com/archives/sports/200703/2943.asp
Abédi Pelé Press Release
Thomas, Durosimi. “Abedi Pele Fights to Clear Name.” BBC Sport Africa. April 17, 2007.
“You are not the people who deserve the money …”
and details of the fight over money, were confirmed in interviews with the president of GFA, two other GFA executives who were in the room, and three players.
FA denies report on WC finances. Available at www.ghanafa.org/blackstars/200701/1718.asp.
CHAPTER 20: “I SWEAR, I’M INNOCENT”
“I Swear, I’m Innocent …”
Kwaitto, Samuel Ebo. “Alleged Bribery Scandal in Iran.” Graphic Weekend Edition Sports (Accra). July 6–9, 2007. 1.
“In every competition you find gamblers around …”
“I would not rule out the possibility of gamblers approaching our players …”
“They may not necessarily have to come to the hotels. Some have agents who establish links and then they do their business.”
“Even last week when we played Iran in a friendly match …”
Interview with Kwesi Nyantakyi, July 2007.
“One of our coaches got involved with some people …”
“The coach came to my room and knelt …”
Interview with Randy Abbey, July 2007.
Kofi Boakye case
The case became a cause célèbre in Ghana, with numerous newspaper and magazine articles written about it. An account of the judge’s final summation is found in:
Baneseh, Mabel Aku. “Cocaine Trial Tagor, Abass Jailed 15 Years Each.” Daily Graphic (
Accra). November 29, 2007. Available at www.modernghana.com/news/148843/1/Cocaine-Trial-Tagor-Abass-Jailed-15-Years-Each.
Meeting after the Iran trip
Minutes of the Administrative Enquiry into Allegations of Bribery Levelled Against Abubakari Damba, held on July 3, 2007.
CHAPTER 21: WHO GUARDS THE GUARDIANS?
1869 Harvard versus Oxford Rowing Race
Millers, Bill. “The Great International Boat Race.” Friends of Rowing History Web site, 2006. www.rowinghistory.net/1869.htm.
Drinkwater, G.C. The Boat Race. London: Blackie and Son, 1939. 56–58. In his book, Drinkwater claims that the Oxford team had, by the final stretch, easily won the race, but had to slow down because a sightseeing boat got in their way.
For further exploration of the general history of professional rowing and the divisions between the amateur – usually upper-class – rowers and the professionals see:
Dodd, Christopher. The Story of World Rowing. London: Stanley Paul, 1992.
Halladay, Eric. Rowing in History: A Social History – The Amateur Debate. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990.
Wigglesworth, Neil. The Social History of English Rowing. London: Frank Cass, 1992.
Dickens, Charles. “The Oxford and Harvard Boat Race.” Speech at Sydenham. August 30, 1869. www.underthesun.cc/Classics/Dickens/speeches/speeches41.html.
Professional pedestrianism
See Lile, Emma. “Professional Pedestrianism in South Wales During the Nineteenth Century.” Sports Historian. No. 20 (2ooo). 94–1005, which outlines some of the culture around professional walking in the nineteenth century. For a good fictional account, “The Loss of Sammy Crockett” by Arthur Morrison (1894) features one of the great detectives of late Victorian literature, Martin Hewitt, who investigates the world of professional pedestrianism.
Horst Dassler and Joao Havelange
The letter that Havelange wrote for de Andrade was first published by Claudio Renato in “Havelange e Avalista Moral de Castor.” O Globo (São Paulo). April 9, 1994. 12. The article also featured a photo of Havelange, de Andrade, and Havelange’s son-in-law, who is the president of the Brazilian Confederation of Football, celebrating at de Andrade’s daughter’s wedding.