The three most shocking match-fixing incidents in football’s history

The three most shocking match-fixing incidents in football’s history

Watching football matches can be one of the best things in the world, especially if you really love the game. Everyone loves the exciting clashes between the best teams in the world, mainly when it comes down to the biggest football teams in the world.

However, apart from being fun to watch, football also has a few negative sides that some of you might not know. Similar to any other sport, the match-fixing scandals here are nothing new. In fact, football is usually the sport that has the most issues in this regard, especially in some of the leagues around the world. 

Nonetheless, there have been many match-fixing scandals even among the biggest competitions in the world. In this article, we will take a look at some of them.

Italy, 1980

If you ever decide to look for match-fixing history, this is probably the first thing that will show up. The 1980 scandal was called “Totonero” and it involved two of the biggest teams in the world – AC Milan and Lazio.

Needless to say, both of these clubs were relegated to the lower division after what happened (Serie B). What’s more, Felice Comobmo, who used to be Milan’s president back then, received a permanent ban from football.

Two goalkeepers revealed the match-fixing scheme and it still remains one of the biggest scandals in sport’s history. According to them, these two clubs basically “sold” the matches for money.

Italy, 2000

The first big football match-fixing scandal of the 21st century happened in Italy, and it was pretty big. A total of eight players were found guilty of the Italian Football Federation. Some of them were from Atalanta, whereas other players for Pistoiese, which was in Serie B back then.

The match that they were found guilty of was for the Italian Cup and it took place in August of 2000. The match finished with a score of 1-1, and it was Atalanta that scored in the last minute of the first half. However, just a few seconds before the match was going to end, the Serie A team received a goal, which equalized the game. Even though Atalanta continued further, Snai, which was one of the big betting companies back then (you can learn more from here), reported that it registered a lot of bets with the correct score. 

Italy, 2005

The last big scandal that shocked the European football fans was once again in Italy. This time, it involved a team that has loads of fans, and that’s Genoa. Back then, the team became the champions of Serie B. Everything was going well for them as they expected their promotion to the “big league” until they were found guilty of an attempt to bribe their opponents.

Of course, this happened in the last game of the season, where Genoa had to face Venezia. After the accident, Enrico Preziozi (Genoa’s president) was basically removed from the sport for five years. Despite the win and the fact that Genoa secured themselves a promotion, the team was sent to Serie C1 as a result of the penalty.