For years I’ve railed against match fixing. I’ve written about it here on these pages and spoken about it on radio, TV, and at forums.
The usual trope of – betting rings – carries weight but from over 25 years experience in the pro game, it’s less than half the instances. The majority of fixes relate to winning trophies, avoiding relegation or getting paid. But the minority scourge is alive and unwell, according to the recent public statement of a former Montenegrin international.
Lose to win
Serbia-born Vladimir Rodić was a tricky midfielder when I first watched him play with Rad in Serbia’s top tier back in 2013/14. He was proposed to our company for a move to Russia and I thought he was capable of doing a job in the second tier. His Serbian agent asked us to see if there was “anything going”. Sokol Saratov couldn’t afford him, Tosno I advised against, and Gazovik Orenburg wanted him so much they would make him their top paid player ($11,000 per month). Vladimir decided against it and ended up with Malmo in Sweden.
He won a league with the Sky Blue in 2016 and has remained in Scandinavia, apart from a brief sojourn in Turkey and loan spell in Serbia with Rad. He grew into a player you enjoy watching. A player brutally overlooked by a lacklustre Montenegro side and one who could have done the business with midtable Bundesliga or Serie A sides. Now 31, he’s out of contract this winter with Östers IF in Sweden’s second tier and the wrong people know this. He was recently made an offer that if he threw a game, he’d win a contract elsewhere. Football is boxing, just with more money and less morals.
Shocked and frustrated with the blatant effort to use his age, career prospects and financial wellbeing against him, he went public in a way that has infuriated quite a few within the game. One top flight Swedish coach called him “an attention seeker”, while another argued that “If he were any good, he wouldn’t publicise it, let alone get such an offer.” It’s always amazing that only the losers blow the whistle, never those at the top of the game or the massively silent middle.
Swedish scandal or part of the game?
“I don’t know if this will reach many people or not, however I just wanted to highlight about potential dangers for football players out there!” Vladimir wrote, along with publishing screenshots of the texts he was sent. It reminded me of what a player I worked with in Malta went through. I made the mistake of both silencing him and going through official routes. The night before the League Cup Final he was called by a top Maltese international (whom he knew from playing for the same club in Hungary) and asked to “go easy”, and then some. In a panic he called me and I relayed it to our club secretary and the Maltese FA. As soon as I did so, I was told to keep quiet as they had it in hand, and the player was called back by the Maltese international to tell him it was all a joke. It wasn’t. And I was part of the cover-up. I should have gone public. But since our secretary was also a journalist, I knew I couldn’t.
“You always joke and hear about these stories throughout your career,” the Östers player went on, “‘Get one yellow card and we are rich’ or ‘If you would talk to your goalkeeper to let one goal in’ etc. However I’ve never actually gotten an offer like that until today.”
A Swedish journalist, when I asked her to give a background on this, said that it’s nothing unusual and could be a scam. I asked, does the Swedish FA not care? She sent me a ROFL emoji and asked “Do you check out every crazy who sends you a story of doping?” She’s right, I don’t. I can’t, but I don’t have a professional responsibility to protect players. In fact, I’m not in office to protect players and the game. I’m just a sports lover who writes the odd piece.
Easy pickings
The footballer in Malta was coming to the end of his deal with us, though we wanted him to stay. The offer he got, from the Maltese international, was money and a contract with Valletta, the team we were facing in the final. He left Floriana and we lost contact. He was disheartened with the whole mess and I knew that he was blacklisted in the country without anyone having to tell me.
In the majority of cases of match fixing, it’s organised from the top down. The club owner/president needs a trophy and so they get an intermediary to do a deal. Or they don’t want to be relegated and do a deal. Or qualify for Europe, or screw over a rival. And some coaches do it to screw over their own club, no money needed. In Lithuania there are players who you know you can ‘rely on’ to help you out. This isn’t for betting, it’s more important than that.
Villain in Vilnius
“Early in my career, very early, I learned that no matter what I do, I’m ruled by coaches or owner. If they say, this other, another team need a win, I can help.” The former top flight player told me, while sitting in Sue’s India Raja in the Lithuanian capital.
Is this for gambling? I asked.
“No, no, no. It’s too easy for being caught [betting scams]. No, like this. Owner one tells my owner, we are close to Europe [qualification], go easy for us. Owner one before gave favour to my owner and gets it back. Sometimes the owner knows the club, your club, my club, no matter, needs money. So he says, I give you this and this, or the transfer debt, you don’t owe now. And, result.”
It really is that simple. And if we think it’s only outlier leagues, or loser nations, or loser players, then we’re deluded.
Where to turn?
And the problem, if players ignore and laugh it off, they’re cooked – like my former Capital Sports co-host Katya Bychkova. If they report it, they’re cooked, like Michael Ghebru. If they go public, they could be cooked. It is a lose-lose because the authorities don’t want us opening their fur coats to find they’re knicker-less.
When I reported on match fixing in tennis, tennis ‘writers’ raged that I was breaking the code of silence. When tennis players have spoken out, they have been ostracised or gotten at for other misdeeds – like Ksenia Palkina. So better to shut up, right? Or just speak out and be done with it, because you need to live with yourself. And Vladimir deserves the last word on this.
“Stay true to yourself, believe in your values and DO NOT fall victim to these kinds of scammers who just want to take advantage of you!”