This evening's newsnight had a special report which alleges that FIFA was warned over potential match-fixing at the World Cup. Didn't catch it, and it's still hasn't been uploaded to iplayer, but interesting nonetheless. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00t0s0w/Newsnight_09_07_2010/ Let's see how this plays out
World Cup is nearly unfixable. The refs are harder to get to then some heads of state and I can't think of any players willing to throw a game in the World Cup.
Dateline Argentina, 1978: Argentina needs to beat Peru by at least 4 goals to make the final (instead of Brazil). They win 6-0. In a game that in today's format would be a sort of semi-final. Fixed? You tell me.
Most definately fixed. The big questions are: How? why? and who? And are those same forces still at work today in SA 2010? Basically, the answer to that last question ("No") makes your example rather poor evidence for any match fixing in this edition of the WC. Argentina was a military dictatorship, who's leaders may or may not have exerted some influence over the outcome of the tournament. Wasn't Peru kept awake all night before that game? And weren't the Dutch forced to drive (walk?) through a wild Argentinian fan mob just before the final? Anyway the only sign of match fixing here were the North Koreans allegedly going all out attack against Portugal after instructions from Kim Il... Whotsisname... Might have screwed things up for one of the other teams!
FIFA is accused of fixing matches.. FIFA has 100% access to referee's. If you were trying to make an accusation of a 3rd party your statement would hold merit but not in the context of this thread unless im mistaken in the grand scheme of things. I 100% believe that FIFA has in the past and continues to have influence in the outcome of games. Look at what happened this year. The ratings will be off the charts this year because for the first time in a very long time your going to have a never before crowned champion. You had England and the US in the same group. Had England actually won the group they would have had an easy road until the semi final game. There is Influence going on here. I would not doubt for one second that the entire group systems are pre made long before the draw and the draw is just a scam. Its all designed so they can maximize the world cup effect. Teams playing teams that are favorable. Again looking at the US, England group.. England wins the group easy road to the finals.. England comes in second in the group, automatic rematch against tada.. Germany meanwhile the US wins the group they rematch against Ghana who knocked them out in the last world cup. Of course FIFA realized the impact this WC was having in the US so for the first time every we get a Penalty kick... we just could seal the deal even with favorable calls. Of Course if the US come's in second they rematch against Germany and that very questionable no call in 2002. that is only a small sample.. You can come up with so many rematches in this world cup directly relating to the previous 2 or 3 world cups its hard to pawn them off ass coincidence and luck of the draw. A very weak Italian team being put into the easiest group in the entire tournament.... the list really does go on and on.
I take issue with the "This needed to happen for them to advance and it DID! CLEARLY it's fixed!" argument. Sometimes teams beat teams by a wide margin. Argentina beating Peru, of all countries, 6-0 is not really that odd. Surely, there has been match-fixing and there is some circumstancial proof to back this up. It is widely believed that the Germany-Austria game of 1986 had a pre-determined outcome. Korea's performance in 2002 could not have been just coincidental. The calls against Italy and Spain in that tournament were more than just "bad calls." In fact, the ref who handled the Italian game was soon suspended after the WC for match fixing. I believe there's a big book out recently about soccer and its relation to organized crime. The sad part is if everyone does the job they're supposed to, we'll never know much about it. But we probably will accuse people of match-fixing every time we find a coincidence in a game looking for both an explanation for our team's loss and someone specific to blame.
Ricardo Costa has just got a 3 game ban for his red card, fifa are a joke Villa slapes someone and plays on, should of had a 3 game ban
Some of these arguments seem strong because if you can a country like the US and they finish as good as they did and FIFA stands to grow a new market share in a very large country. Also with in the past years it's seemed that their wasn't much compition untill the knockout stage. But untill we are given hard evidence it's all rumors and gossip but these are just men running the show and they could easily be corrupted.
If Uruguay and Ghana both qualify for the World Cup in 2014 and are then both placed in the same group, it's hard to deny that it would have been a fixed draw.
That's how tournaments are formatted. The better qualified teams get spaced out. What fun would it be to have all the best qualified teams pitted against each other early on, and have the final end up with Brazil vs. North Korea? The basic principle of a tournament is: If you play well, you go far in the tournament. Does FIFA have any influence over which teams play well and which ones don't? There've been, what, 20 World Cups now? Rematches and long running histories are inevitable. The match between US and England was only the second in World Cup history, that's better evidence for a lack of arrangement don't you think? Good World Cup teams tend to be good the next time the World Cup comes around, making the chance of re-matches even more likely. It's not a random match up of some 200 countries, it's more of a competition between the same 20 elite teams.
If FIFA was really trying to "fix" the draw for the US to grow soccer, do you really think they would have been drawn with Ghana, Italy, and Czech Republic last time around? Brazil is a nice sized soccer market in a growing economy, yet they were drawn with Portugal and Ivory Coast this year. FIFA has no interest in matches being fixed, but the financial incentive for referees (most of whom can't make a living through officiating alone) and players (some of whom play for corrupt FAs who cheat them out of WC appearance fees) are there.
Germany-Austria in '86 was so obviously fixed, a mole with cataracts could see that. The normally VERY partisan announcers were even apologizing during the game and said they were ashamed of their own teams. The public outcry was something to behold. But that particular game had nothing to do with organised crime, that was just a buddy-buddy agreement between two teams to collectively make the next round. Dirty- sure, shameful- defintely, but not criminal. If you want criminal, I suggest a little foray into Serie A, Mr. Berlusconi and Milan, as just one example. Yes, FIFA has 100% access to referees and referees are in essence in a position of absolute dictatorial power on the pitch. What he says goes. Handball? No problem, it counts. Not offsides? Also no problem - goal is disallowed. Replay? Not in our backyard.
This thread has been derailed. The allegation BTW involved the Nigerian team. There was very little meat in that report. BTW the Germany v Austria game was in 1982.
in this case I guess it's also very hard to deny that Paul the octopus really can see into the future. seriously, statistics is not your strong point, is it?
Obviously I would hope Peru had not been tampered in 1978 but you just have to look at Peru's keeper (from Argentina) Quiroga to see some unusual goalkeeping decisions. I do hope that the Nigeria claim is wrong but it would explain the mad sending off by the Nigerian which did not exactly get the reactions from other players you would expect. A couple of appalling goalkeeping errors and more to the point two open goals missed. Top players now earn so much money you would like to think they are not ought off.
I've just watched it, and the evidence against Nigeria is rather slim, i.e. non existent really. and the rest of the report is just a warming up of old cases.. I think FIFA would be well advised to increase win bonuses for teams, and force the federations to share at least some of it with the players.