The Scandal: Can their be any doubt that the 2006 Italian match-fixing scandal belongs at #1 on this list? Though Brazil and Germany’s match-fixing scandals were widespread, it seemed like Italy’s was all-encompassing. It brought shame to the nation just as it should have been celebrating its 2006 World Cup title. It was - as we say - a real doozy.

The Participants: It would be easier to list the names and organizations who were not implicated in this scandal than it would be to name them all. Several Serie A (including giants Juventus, Milan, and Lazio) and Serie B teams were part of the scheme. Team managers, players, referees and league officials were all embroiled in the scandal. 

The Investigation: Prosecutors had discovered that Luciano Moggi, Jueventus GM, had engaged in several telephone calls with Serie A officials to rig which referees would call matches for the squad. Italy’s referee representative to the 2006 World Cup was removed due to his improprieties. Several other players and clubs were punished.

The Legacy: There has never been a larger scandal in soccer history because this match-fixing scheme affected so many teams and was perpetuated by so many people who held positions of public trust. Juventus was especially injured, as many of its high profile players immediately left the squad. All in all, there has never been a scandal that so badly injured soccer’s reputation. That is why this scandal is #1 on my list.

I hope you have enjoyed (i.e. been shocked) by my rankings, and if I forgot any of your favorite scandals (there were so many good ones to choose from), please let me hear about it in the comments. Until then, please keep coming back to PLTO for the best news and commentary on the interwebs. Peace.

The Scandal: The same year Brazil’s top flight was entangled in a match-fixing scandal, Germany’s second division was as well. Referee Robert Hoyzer allegedly bet on matches he called and then fixed the results. The scandal rocked Germany just before it hosted the 2006 World Cup and badly tarnished the German league, its players and coaches.

The Participants: Hoyzer was not alone in perpetrating the match-fixing, German players and coaches engaged in the fraudulent activity as well. Apparently, Hoyzer had regular meetings with members of a Croatian crime sydicate who paid him to fix the results in their favor. Some players also were accused of throwing games for money.

The Investigation: It appears no first division game was ever fixed, but several second and third division matches were altered by the scheme. Hoyzer, seeing that he was in hot water, eventually helped the police with their case and implicated other officials, players and members of the crime syndicate. The scandal was sadly a pervasive force. 

The Legacy: Hoyzer was, of course, banned from calling another soccer match at any level forever. He also did nearly three years in jail. Many other participants were arrested and did jail time. Moreover, German officials have kept a closer eye on cheating since then. The scandal tarnished the game, but also made us more vigilant against future invidious activities.

The Scandal: The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) was embroiled in one of soccer’s most memorable scandals in 2008 when its CEO, Henrietta Rushwaya, was accused of sexual misconduct with some of the country’s star players. Rushwaya allegedly forced the coach to bench players who would not submit to her sexual needs.

The Participants: Rushwaya was reputed to have sex with three star players: Benjani Mwaruwari, Harrington Shereni and Cephas Chimedza. Known as the “Iron Lady”, Rushwaya apparently had an insatiable sexual appetite and she would demand players have sex with her and threaten to expel them from the team if they did not please her.

The Investigation: Strangely, Rushwaya was never punished for her indiscretions. In fact, she continues to serve ZIFA today, and has recently become embroiled in another scandal over her alleged use of ZIFA money to buy personal items, such as furniture and jewelry, for herself. The players were mocked, but also never punished.

The Legacy: The actions of ZIFA’s CEO brought shame upon the national team and raised eyebrows over the political and social structure of Zimbabwe. While it was unusual for a woman to allegedly use men as sex toys (rather than vice versa), it showed that absolute power could corrupt either sex, so I think it belongs on this list.

The Scandal: I told you Justin Fashanu (John’s brother) would appear on this list (making their family the most scandalous in world football history), and I wasn’t lying. Fashanu was a a good player who served as an able forward for teams all over the globe, but allegations of sexual assault against him would lead to his suicide and a worldwide scandal.

The Participants: Fashanu was the first openly gay player in soccer history and the first black British player to ever be transferred for more than 1 million pounds. After he was embroiled in the same match-fixing scandal as Grobbelaar, he eventually ended up in America where he was accused of sexual assault by a 17 year old male.

The Investigation: Fashanu was already back in England when the allegations were made against him, and the media attention drove him into seclusion. Eventually, the American police dropped their investigation due to lack of evidence. But, Fashanu hung himself prior to being cleared due to the shame he felt he had brought on his family.

The Legacy: Fashanu was a trailblazer and brave man to declare his homosexuality at a time when he knew it would expose him to hatred and result in his loss of endorsements. The allegations that led to his death were proven to be false, so it is a shame he decided to kill himself. All in all, the Fashanu scandal was a sad incident in soccer history.

The Scandal: In 2005, Brazil’s First Division became embroiled in a scandal that became known as Mafia do Apito (”Whistle’s Mafia”). The incident arose when rich bettors decided to fix some matches by paying two referees a hefty sum of cash. The scandal rocked Brazilian soccer and drew into question the results of several high profile matches.

The Participants: The two referees, Edilson Pereira de Carvalho and Paulo Jose Danelon, were allegedly approached by Nagib Fayad, a rich entrepeneur, and asked to fix the results of several Brazilian National Championship Games. Together, the two referees made tens of thousands of dollars through their actions.

The Investigation: The Brazilian magazine Veja broke the story, and public opinion against the referees was nasty and criminal charges soon followed. Eleven National Championship Games had their results nullified due to Carvalho’s questionable calls. Several other games were suspected to have been fixed by the two referees.

The Legacy: Brazilian soccer has been cleaned up a great deal due to this deplorable scandal. Unfortunately, Carvalho wasn’t just a Brazilian soccer referee, but he was also a member of the FIFA referee staff, bringing into question the results of some international matches. All in all, it was a very dark day for soccer and the public’s trust.

The Scandal: Leicester City players are known as “the Foxes” and in 2004 that nickname took on a whole new meaning when three players were accused of sexual assault by three women in Spain. The team was staying at a resort when Paul Dickov, Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair allegedly forced their way into another room and raped three women.

The Participants: Dickov, Gillespie and Sinclair were accused initially, but eventually six other players were also brought into the controversy as playing some role in the assault, which was described by newspapers as a “gang-rape”. The accusers, who were German, had credibility problems though, and the media was none too kind to them.

The Investigation: Manager Micky Adams offered to resign after the scandal broke and Captain Les Ferdinand stood by his mates and declared their innocence. The Spanish judge assigned to the case was known for his draconian rulings, but eventually the “Leicester City Three” were freed from jail and acquitted of all the charges raised.

The Legacy: While the players were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, they were vilified in the worldwide media and set forth as yet another example of footballers behaving very badly. While they wouldn’t do much time in jail, all footballers have been imprisoned by bad public opinion for their behavior due to the Leicester City scandal.

According to the new figures released by the accounting firm Deloitte, Real Madrid remain the richest club in world football as ranked by annual revenues, closely followed byManchester United. Having won the Premier League and Champions League in 2008, United would have overhauled the Spaniards at the top of the Deloitte Football Money League had it not been for the depreciation of the pound.

And were it not for the effects of the fluctuation in the exchange rate, there would be nine English clubs in the top 20 rather than the seven that feature now. It has been suggested that the devaluation of the pound could even affect the ability of the top English clubs to attract the biggest names to the Premier League.

“Whilst Real Madrid’s 4% revenue growth in 2007-08 is more modest than in recent years, the club has now doubled its revenues since 2002 and enjoys a lead of €41m [£36.8m] over Manchester United,” said Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte. “With the club having announced that it is budgeting for revenues of €400m in 2008-09, it will be difficult for rivals to replace Real at the top of the Money League next year.”

Real Madrid increased revenue by €15m to take their total to €366m. Manchester United’s performances on the pitch in 2007-08 resulted in a £45m (21%) increase to £257m. Third-placed Barcelona grew its revenue by €19m (6%) to €309m.

The table is based on published revenue figures and does not take into account how much debt a club has. Some European clubs have been disparaging about the level of debt that some English clubs, such as Chelsea and Manchester United, are carrying.

But Jones said football was now in the unusual position of having more certainty than other businesses with TV revenues guaranteed and season-ticket sales likely to remain stable. He predicted that sponsorship revenues would also hold up with Manchester United’s search for a replacement for AIG likely to provide a barometer. Only corporate hospitality revenues are threatened to any large extent. “The debt issue gets quite a lot of coverage but I think that most of the clubs are in a position to cope with it,” said Jones.

This year’s figures may come to be seen as a high water mark in terms of the financial clout of top clubs in Europe, reflecting revenues for the 2007-08 season before the full impact of the global economic downturn became clear.

However, Deloitte predicts the biggest clubs would remain relatively resistant to the downturn, pointing to the certainty provided by recent television deals. Less optimistic analysts expect the impact on attendances to become more pronounced towards at the start of next season as fans decide whether to renew season tickets.

European clubs

The other English clubs in the top 20 are Tottenham Hotspur (14th), Newcastle United (17th) and Manchester City (20th).

All the top 20 clubs represent Europe. Germany and Italy have four clubs each in the top 20, Spain and France have two clubs each. 

Alan Switzer, Director in the Sports Business Group, says:

“Bayern Munich is the biggest climber in this year’s top 10, moving up to fourth position.  Despite not competing in the Champions League, revenues were boosted by the club acquiring 100% ownership of its home ground, the Allianz Arena.

“Fenerbahce and VfB Stuttgart, two of the three new entrants ‘promoted’ into the Money League, gain their top 20 position as a result of the significant revenue boost from competing in the Champions League.  The other new entrant, Manchester City, secured 20th position largely due to the increase in broadcast monies received from the Premier League, in the season prior to the arrival of the club’s Abu Dhabi based owners.”

Celtic, Valencia and Werder Bremen dropped out of the Money League, while Stuttgart and Manchester City climbed back. The top 20 clubs’ collective revenue rose by 6% to 3.9bn euros in 2007/08.

The Deloitte Football Money League – 2007/08 revenue

The 1994 World Cup Final between Brazil and Italy was an instant classic and statistically the closest Final ever played. Held in America, the 1994 World Cup saw Brazil crowned champions for the fourth time when they bested Italy on penalties (3-2) after 120 minutes of scoreless soccer. It was the first Final ever decided by penalties.

The ‘94 Cup was significant because the US hosted the World Cup for the first (and only) time and had the highest average attendance in the history of the tournament (nearly 70,000 per match). Nearly 100,000 people packed the Rose Bowl to watch the Final, making it the highest attended sporting event in US history.

The 1994 World Cup was also the first to award three points instead of two for wins during the group stage. Brazil cruised through the opening round while Italy struggled and barely advanced to the knockout stages. Next, the Brazilians barely beat the US before easily besting the Dutch and the Swedes to advance to the Final.

Italy’s path through the knockout stages was much, much tougher. Roberto Baggio was their savior though, scoring two goals against Nigeria to advance past the Round of 16, notching the game winner in the quarterfinals against Spain and slotting home both Italy’s goals in the semifinal against Bulgaria. His glory would soon fade though. 

The Final was a defensive delight and neither team produced a genuine scoring opportunity in over 120 minutes of play. The game was decided on penalties, and Baggio went from hero to goat when he missed his shot to hand the Brazilians the win. While many lament the use of penalties in the World Cup, I still think this game belongs at #3.

The 1986 World Cup Final between Argentina and West Germany was held in Mexico, but it would be dominated by the Argentines who would claim their second title in twelve years in the thin air of  Estadio Azteca. Mexico was actually a replacement host because Colombia didn’t have the money to put on the tourney.

The 1986 World Cup would be the first with 24 participants (up from 16). The West Germans would struggle early, losing to Denmark before narrowly beating Scotland and merely drawing with Uruguay. They would then eke out a 1-0 win over Morocco, just get by Mexico on penalties and beat France 2-0 to make the Finals.

The story of the 1986 World Cup though is really the story of Diego Maradona. In the opening round, he singlehandedly embarassed South Korea, helped the squad draw with Italy and led his team to a 2-0 win over Bulgaria. He would go on to win the Golden Ball for his unparalleled skill, but not before controversy would strike.

After Argentina beat Uruguay in the second round, they faced England in the quarterfinals. Maradona scored two historic goals to lead the team to a 2-1 victory. The first was the “Hand of God” goal (see pic above) and the second was “The FIFA Goal of the Century”, which featured Maradona dribbling half the length of the field and beating five defenders before slotting a perfect shot in the net.

After dispatching Belgium 2-0 (again on two Maradona goals), Argentina met West Germany in the Final. After the Germans erased a 2-0 deficit, Maradona sent a brilliant pass to Jose Burruchaga who notched the 83rd minute game winner. Maradona’s performance was the best in World Cup history, and that’s why the ‘86 Cup is #4 on this list.