Football History

Although the German Bundesliga remains one of the most respected in Europe, it has been affected by scandal at various points in its history. In 1965 Hertha Berlin were demoted for illegal player payments, and six years later Armenia Bielefeld suffered a similar fate and more than 50 players as well as coaches and match officials were suspended for their ...

Just over a decade ago, Richard Keys an Andy Gray, who had long been the voice of Sky Sports football coverage in the UK were forced to leave their jobs. The reason was because tapes were leaked to the media in which the duo made derogatory comments about a female linesman and other female figures involved in the football industry ...

Age fraud has been defined as the use of false documentation to gain an advantage over opponents, usually by allowing players to compete in  youth tournaments. It has become particularly associated with African, because in many countries in the continent, records are not easily verifiable. In some cases,  this can be due to ignorance – somebody can be born in ...

At the end of March, it was confirmed that Real Madrid striker and former French international Karim Benzema is to stand trial in October on blackmail charges. If convicted, he could face up to five years in jail and a fine of €75.000. The affair dates back to 2015 when Benzema’s international teammate, Mathieu Valbuena, asked a couple of fixers ...

Bruno Fernandes – known simply as Bruno in Brazil – was a goalkeeper with a growing reputation. He had captained Flamengo to the top of the league, was tipped to make the Brazil national squad for the 2014 World Cup, and there was speculation linking him to a big money move to Europe with AC Milan. However, in 2013 his ...

In May 2015 Swiss plainclothes policemen entered the luxury Baur au Lac hotel where FIFA, world football’s governing body, were holding their annual general meeting. After enquiring with reception about room numbers, they went upstairs, knocked on various doors, and promptly arrested six delegates. Later that day, on the other side of the Atlantic, in New Year, the Justice Department ...

Marseille are one of the best supported and successful clubs in French football, In 1993 they were flying high. Under charismatic chairman Bernard Tapie, a businessman, politician, occasional actor and singer, and TV host they had won the French Championship for the past four seasons and were favourites to do so again, And, for the second time in three years ...

Ahead of the 2004 World Cup. Columbia had high hopes that they could win the tournament for the first time in their history. They had topped South American World Cup qualifying, had humiliated Argentine 5 – 0 in front of their home fans in Buenos Aires, and even Pelé had made tipped them as eventual winners, But they failed to ...

It is regarded as the darkest hour in the history of Serie A, and one that has left an indelible stain on the reputation of the country’s biggest club, Juventus. AC Milan, Lazio, and Fiorentina also subsequently became implicated in what became known as Calciopoli (Footballgate). And even 15 years after the sentences were handed out, the legacy of it ...

Whilst football may be the beautiful game, played and watched by hundreds of millions of people, due its popularity and profitability it is not immune from scandal. The sport has seen more than its fair share of corruption and misdeeds over the years, ranging from the taking of bribes at high level to match fixing, whilst there have been legion ...