Top 5 Football Conspiracies
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Top 5 Football Conspiracies
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NOVEMBER 20, 2013
TOP 5 FOOTBALL CONSPIRACIES
Over the years the beautiful game has often been shown to have an ugly side with several club UEFA and even FIFA officials accused of some pretty shady things. From match fixing to selling World Cup bid votes to rigging the Ballon d’Or voting, the game has seen it all. SR has delved into football’s conspiracy archives and bring you our list of the top five.
5. 1998 World Cup Conspiracy
Despite the fact that reigning World Player of the Year, Ronaldo, fell ill the morning of the 1998 World Cup final and looked more like a kid being dragged to the opera as he stepped onto the pitch at the Stade de France, rumour has it Brazil weren’t actually ‘outplayed’ by France (they lost 3-0) but instead “sold” the World Cup to FIFA. The theory is that FIFA paid the Brazilian FA 28 million in exchange for them throwing the game, allowing the hosts to win.
Apparently, the deal was that in addition to the money, the 2002 World Cup would be ‘softened’ in Brazil’s favour and they would host the World Cup in the next decade. Well, as fate (or FIFA) would have it, Brazil did indeed end up lifting the trophy in Japan four years later and as soon as FIFA’a continental rotation for hosting the World Cup was brought to an end after the 2010 event in South Africa, were awarded the right to host the 2014 edition – unopposed!
4. The Rooney Conspiracy
In October 2010, when Wayne Rooney shocked the world by announcing that he wanted to leave Manchester United citing the club’s “lack of ambition,” only to make a dramatic U-turn and sign a new five-year deal days later, the cynics in the English game just weren’t quite buying it. While some believed the transfer request was a stunt by Rooney and his controversial agent Paul Stretford to get more money out of United, there are those who think that the whole thing was concocted by Sir Alex Ferguson in order to convince the club’s owners that they needed to spend big in the transfer market to remain competitive.
In the following summer transfer window United signed Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea for a combined total of just over £50 million – the most the club had spent in over three years. Well played, Sir Alex, well played!
3. The “Uefalona” Conspiracy
Ever since Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona started dominating European football in 2009, UEFA have been accused of a bias towards the Catalan club, with match officials allegedly being given instructions to favour the Spanish side in the Champions League. There have certainly plenty of very questionable decisions that have helped Barca dominate the tournament as they have in recent years, dating back to the infamous semi-final second leg against Chelsea in 2009.
In a game Jose Mourinho would later dub the “Scandal of Stamford Bridge” Chelsea were denied at least two clear penalties and several other ridiculous decisions went Barca’s way, as they went on to win the game and eventually the competition. Since then there have been numerous other “scandals” such as Robin van Persie’s ridiculous red card in the Nou Camp in 2010 for shooting after the referee had blown for offside. Thiago Motta, Allesandro Nesta and Pepe have also been victims of very harsh red cards in key games against the Catalans. In 2012 it was revealed that UEFA President Michel Platini’s brother works for the Qatar Foundation, which replaced Unicef as the club’s shirt sponsor in 2011.
2. The Calciopoli Conspiracy
Conspiracy theorists in Italy claim that Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti fabricated the whole “Calciopoli” match-fixing scandal – which saw Juventus stripped of two titles and relegated to Serie B in 2006. Moratti is said to have used his friendship with Milan director Adriano Galliani to plot the downfall of the Turin club, in order to ensure unopposed dominance for years to come. In the wake of the scandal, while Inter and Milan were also found guilty of match-fixing, they got off with points deductions and remained in Serie A, while Juve had to deal with an exodus of their best players. Coincidentally, Inter would go on to win the next four Scudetti in a row.
1. The Messi-Ballon d’Or Conspiracy
In the wake of Sepp Blatter’s recent comments about four-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, this particular conspiracy theory has gained some steam. Ronaldo was the first of the two to be awarded the prestigious award when he collected both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year (before the two merged to become the FIFA Ballon d’Or) awards in 2008 after winning the Champions League with Manchester United. Messi would go on to collect the gong the following year after achieving the same feat – beating Ronaldo’s United in the 2009 final. While Messi certainly deserved the award that year, why he was awarded it for the next three years after that is a mystery to many.
In 2010, Messi failed to help Barcelona defend their Champions League crown and went missing in the semi-final against Inter Milan. In that very semi-final a certain Wesley Sneijder delivered a virtuoso display, eventually winning the tournament and with it, a historic treble. He then led his country all the way to the World Cup final in Johannesburg, while Messi failed to score at the tournament as Argentina were hammered 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals. Sneijder was without doubt the standout player in the world game that year, and yet didn’t even make the three-man shortlist.
While Messi’s 2011 award might well have been deserved, having won back the Champions League, he was outscored by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2010-11 season and failed once again to score at the Copa America in Uruguay. His latest and record fourth golden ball came in a year where he missed a penalty that cost Barcelona a place in the Champions League final and lost the La Liga title to a Ronaldo-inspired Real Madrid. In the wake of that latest award, reports emerged of voting being rigged with the likes of Thomas Rosicky, Thiago Silva and several others claiming their votes had been changed.
With all the talking Franck Ribery has been doing recently he seems pretty confident of being the man to who finally ends the Messi-d’Or era, but if recent history is anything to go by, he shouldn’t hold his breath!
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
TOP 5 FOOTBALL CONSPIRACIES
Over the years the beautiful game has often been shown to have an ugly side with several club UEFA and even FIFA officials accused of some pretty shady things. From match fixing to selling World Cup bid votes to rigging the Ballon d’Or voting, the game has seen it all. SR has delved into football’s conspiracy archives and bring you our list of the top five.
5. 1998 World Cup Conspiracy
Despite the fact that reigning World Player of the Year, Ronaldo, fell ill the morning of the 1998 World Cup final and looked more like a kid being dragged to the opera as he stepped onto the pitch at the Stade de France, rumour has it Brazil weren’t actually ‘outplayed’ by France (they lost 3-0) but instead “sold” the World Cup to FIFA. The theory is that FIFA paid the Brazilian FA 28 million in exchange for them throwing the game, allowing the hosts to win.
Apparently, the deal was that in addition to the money, the 2002 World Cup would be ‘softened’ in Brazil’s favour and they would host the World Cup in the next decade. Well, as fate (or FIFA) would have it, Brazil did indeed end up lifting the trophy in Japan four years later and as soon as FIFA’a continental rotation for hosting the World Cup was brought to an end after the 2010 event in South Africa, were awarded the right to host the 2014 edition – unopposed!
4. The Rooney Conspiracy
In October 2010, when Wayne Rooney shocked the world by announcing that he wanted to leave Manchester United citing the club’s “lack of ambition,” only to make a dramatic U-turn and sign a new five-year deal days later, the cynics in the English game just weren’t quite buying it. While some believed the transfer request was a stunt by Rooney and his controversial agent Paul Stretford to get more money out of United, there are those who think that the whole thing was concocted by Sir Alex Ferguson in order to convince the club’s owners that they needed to spend big in the transfer market to remain competitive.
In the following summer transfer window United signed Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea for a combined total of just over £50 million – the most the club had spent in over three years. Well played, Sir Alex, well played!
3. The “Uefalona” Conspiracy
Ever since Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona started dominating European football in 2009, UEFA have been accused of a bias towards the Catalan club, with match officials allegedly being given instructions to favour the Spanish side in the Champions League. There have certainly plenty of very questionable decisions that have helped Barca dominate the tournament as they have in recent years, dating back to the infamous semi-final second leg against Chelsea in 2009.
In a game Jose Mourinho would later dub the “Scandal of Stamford Bridge” Chelsea were denied at least two clear penalties and several other ridiculous decisions went Barca’s way, as they went on to win the game and eventually the competition. Since then there have been numerous other “scandals” such as Robin van Persie’s ridiculous red card in the Nou Camp in 2010 for shooting after the referee had blown for offside. Thiago Motta, Allesandro Nesta and Pepe have also been victims of very harsh red cards in key games against the Catalans. In 2012 it was revealed that UEFA President Michel Platini’s brother works for the Qatar Foundation, which replaced Unicef as the club’s shirt sponsor in 2011.
2. The Calciopoli Conspiracy
Conspiracy theorists in Italy claim that Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti fabricated the whole “Calciopoli” match-fixing scandal – which saw Juventus stripped of two titles and relegated to Serie B in 2006. Moratti is said to have used his friendship with Milan director Adriano Galliani to plot the downfall of the Turin club, in order to ensure unopposed dominance for years to come. In the wake of the scandal, while Inter and Milan were also found guilty of match-fixing, they got off with points deductions and remained in Serie A, while Juve had to deal with an exodus of their best players. Coincidentally, Inter would go on to win the next four Scudetti in a row.
1. The Messi-Ballon d’Or Conspiracy
In the wake of Sepp Blatter’s recent comments about four-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, this particular conspiracy theory has gained some steam. Ronaldo was the first of the two to be awarded the prestigious award when he collected both the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year (before the two merged to become the FIFA Ballon d’Or) awards in 2008 after winning the Champions League with Manchester United. Messi would go on to collect the gong the following year after achieving the same feat – beating Ronaldo’s United in the 2009 final. While Messi certainly deserved the award that year, why he was awarded it for the next three years after that is a mystery to many.
In 2010, Messi failed to help Barcelona defend their Champions League crown and went missing in the semi-final against Inter Milan. In that very semi-final a certain Wesley Sneijder delivered a virtuoso display, eventually winning the tournament and with it, a historic treble. He then led his country all the way to the World Cup final in Johannesburg, while Messi failed to score at the tournament as Argentina were hammered 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals. Sneijder was without doubt the standout player in the world game that year, and yet didn’t even make the three-man shortlist.
While Messi’s 2011 award might well have been deserved, having won back the Champions League, he was outscored by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2010-11 season and failed once again to score at the Copa America in Uruguay. His latest and record fourth golden ball came in a year where he missed a penalty that cost Barcelona a place in the Champions League final and lost the La Liga title to a Ronaldo-inspired Real Madrid. In the wake of that latest award, reports emerged of voting being rigged with the likes of Thomas Rosicky, Thiago Silva and several others claiming their votes had been changed.
With all the talking Franck Ribery has been doing recently he seems pretty confident of being the man to who finally ends the Messi-d’Or era, but if recent history is anything to go by, he shouldn’t hold his breath!
Look who is Here Again!