Tag Archives: The biggest scandals in the history of football

It made headlines around the world, whilst the press conference that followed it became almost as famous for the bizarre philosophical statements offered up by the man at the centre of the controversy, Manchester United striker Eric Cantona. On January 25th, 1995, his United side were playing Crystal Palace in a  league match at Selhurst Park in South London. The ...

Tony Chapron was a highly respected French referee. He had been refereeing in the top flight of French football since 2004, and had taken charge of more than 400 games, including the French Cup final in 2014. And  his services were also in demand abroad, and he had also officiated in the Chinese Super League. He had also taken charge ...

Whilst barely remembered now, few men can have created more headlines around the world for one incident than Chile goalkeeper Roberto Rojas, often known as the Condor for the way he swooped and dived around his goalmouth. At the time, the image of Rojas prone on the floor bleeding caused shock waves around the world, until photographer’s stills of the ...

The 1978 World Cup has claims to be one of the most controversial ever.  A Welsh referee disallowed a Brazil gaol because he judged it was full-time as the ball was about to cross the line, and  a Scottish player was sent home for taking a banned stimulant. And, meanwhile, off the pitch, terrible things were happening away from the ...

Just when football thought it had seen its fair share of scandals, along comes the European Super League (ESL). A group of 12 men, with no consultation with players, managers, or supporters – with one of them sneeringly referring to those who have slavishly followed their clubs for years as legacy fans – decided to form a separate breakaway league. ...

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 ...