The A-League is not immune to the issues raised by the Australian Crime Commission two days ago. But rather than drug use, it is the scourge of match-fixing that football in Australia is most susceptible to.
The ACC’s findings of widespread drug use and alleged corruption in Australian sport have come as a major shock to fans and administrators of all codes.
Systematic doping and the use of performance-enhancing substances doesn’t so much tarnish the image of a sport as it does trash its integrity entirely, particularly if club doctors and administrators have knowingly participated.
But while human nature suggests elite athletes will always be tempted by the lure of performance-enhancing drugs – and football is no exception – it’s organised crime and its relationship to the global betting industry that A-League officials must be most suspicious of.
It’s an industry I perhaps have a better working knowledge of than most.
When I moved to Japan midway through 2006, I did so without having lined up any particular job to speak of.
It didn’t take me long to get a job teaching English in a foreign language school of some repute, but not being the most sociable of types, I decided it wasn’t for me.
And having already picked up some work elsewhere writing about Japanese football, I typed something like ‘Japan football jobs’ into Google and came across a website offering to pay for match previews and reports.
I ended up writing for that particular site for years, not just about Japanese football but about many other leagues as well, including – briefly – the A-League.
In doing so I was doing absolutely nothing illegal; simply taking publicly available information, collating it and essentially selling it to an agency who paid me for my time and effort.
But the fact it was a subscription-based service, and with the company later offering real-time information, I soon realised they were selling the reports to betting agencies and, it must be said, professional gamblers.
Once again, I should stress that there is nothing inherently illegal in betting on sports.
In fact, the industry in Australia is heavily regulated and for better or worse pumps millions of dollars into the economy.
But I bet you, if you’ll pardon the pun, that the Australian gambling industry has problems dealing with Asian betting syndicates.
It’s these syndicates, based mainly in Southeast Asian states like Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, which investigative journalist Declan Hill has routinely highlighted are principally involved in fixing football matches.
And they’re usually doing it in leagues they believe won’t attract international scrutiny.
That’s why you often read about the lower leagues in regions like the Balkans coming under scrutiny and it’s precisely why A-League officials need to be on guard.
That said, minimum wage laws and the fact A-League players are paid relatively well means it should be far less tempting for them to engage in corrupt practices than in countries where wages are poor and often not paid on time, if at all.
However, the vast sums of money to be made gambling on football mean there are plenty of organisations willing to use any angle available to predict the outcome of results.
I was once approached by a legitimate betting outlet from Hong Kong who asked me to write previews of Japanese second division games for them.
I didn’t take them up on the offer, but what I most remember about their approach was that the money they offered would have made it one of the best-paying jobs I’ve ever had in football.
And that’s a pertinent fact when you consider what is happening to journalism. Media outlets might be dying a slow death but betting agencies are flourishing.
That not only says something about the society we live in, it also suggests the A-League must be extremely vigilant if it’s to protect itself from the global threat of match fixing.
Adrian
Guest
40m would be on whats called the asian line, which is a hcp bet, and they way the asian bet on soccer and the 40m (by the soubds of it) would just be bet at the hong kong jockey club , as they are the only legal betting out fit in hong Kong...
albatross
Roar Pro
Here's the Dubliner's version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLZRWNdGCUc I saw them in Dublin (well Dun Laoghaire really) forty years ago. They looked much younger then.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
He was declared bankrupt a few months ago. I dare say whatever money he makes from Sydney FC goes towards paying the bills rather than on wagers.
me, I like football
Guest
MVDave could you help me out here?, I take it you are refering to this Guy http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/expert-opinion/mark-robinson can't find anything anywhere
Melange
Guest
I can't remember the details Mike but I thought there was more to it in Italy. Either way, reports suggest he owes a substantial amount of money to bookmakers, if we're talking about potential for people to be put in circumstances where they are desperate enough to give information to bookies, even if it is as simple as line ups, then by the reports I've read he is in desperate circumstances. I'm not saying hang the man out to dry, I'd just like to think his employers have been pro-active and are satisfied his circumstances are not desperate. It's more about being pro-active to prevent any problems, rather then dealing with issues should the arise.
aubgraham
Roar Rookie
I have to admit I haven't had any need to clean money, but I don't think the betting we are talking about is taking place on Australian shores. Not sure you would find any bookmakers at the Cranbourne greyhounds that would take on the bets needed to clean $40M. If I needed to weekly clean that sort of money using gambling in the above mentioned way then I would try to make regular bets on the same thing. To me, a 'surge' in betting action only make sense when someone thinks they have more information than the general market. And in sports, the most obvious extra information would be some type of match fixing.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ aubgraham Yes, very good point. I was under the impression that any bet/transaction over a certain amount would be picked up by the regulators - regardless of the size of the market. I know in AUS any betting transaction over $10k would be automatically flagged by AUSTRAC.
aubgraham
Roar Rookie
You missed the point. Throwing large amounts of money at an A-League game, where the pot would otherwise be small will arouse suspicion. You can clean that money by putting it a game where the same amount of money will appear much smaller and arouse far less suspicion. Nothing to do with snob value at all.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"You want to clean $40 M and you decide to put it on an A-League match instead of EPL/NFL/NBA… " What difference - apart from 'snob value' - does it make where you gamble the money? Does the money feel better if was won on the Superbowl rather than the Cranbourne greyhounds? If I were in need of money-laundering, I'd look at any market that is open & capable of handling my transaction ... and cost the least amount. I think people have been reading too many Grisham novels - to fix a sporting event requires, not just money but also, time to build & nurture relationships. An 8% fee to launder $40m ... would be simple & done with the click of a button.
aubgraham
Roar Rookie
You want to clean $40 M and you decide to put it on an A-League match instead of EPL/NFL/NBA... To me that seems like head in the sand stuff. It is possible that this was simply an attempt to clean money but isn't more probably that some sort of match fixing was involved. For example, pay the referee to call the game in one teams favour so that the 'real' odds for W/D/L are 1.8/3.1/4.7. If you bet 20/12/8 the profit is over $5M. Not only do you clean your money but you make a handsome profit. How many part-time referees would refuse 500K for the odd game? Are FFA paying enough to prevent such opportunities?
AGO74
Guest
Brilliant!
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
I don't want to suggest Kalac has ever done anything untoward as that is a horrible thing to say about someone. One of the stories that stand out for me was when Bosnich was at his lowest ebb he was approached to fix a match and rejected it. Made him more of a hero in my eyes.
AGO74
Guest
+1 to Punter's comment.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Kalac was photographed at betting agencies in Italy but it was my understanding he was betting on horses back in Australia and not on football in Italy.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I take your point, Mikey. I have to say when Ryan Tandy was found guilty of deliberately conceding a penalty in the NRL, I wasn't the least bit surprised. It seemed to be me there were plenty of opportunities for this kind of manipulation to exist and when you look at Tandy's career, he failed to establish himself at any one club in either Australia or England. So it's entirely plausible that journalists and administrators in each respective code are aware of these kinds of instances going on. But in terms of the A-League, I think it's young enough (for want of a better term) and the administration of it is not entrenched enough for this kind of systemic manipulation to have taken place over the past eight years. That's just my personal opinion. I think for the casual sports fan, though, these reports of widespread drug use and/or potential match fixing across all codes (and I don't know how 'widespread' these instances are supposed to be) definitely would have come as a surprise.
AGO74
Guest
By your logic of“just have a look at players“ to determine if they are using drugs,the sport of cycling and their super skinny competitors has nothing to worry about with drugs do they? Oh.
j binnie
Guest
Ian - I remember this case and it was thought,but never quite proven, that this game was fixed and Escobar's assassination was a result, However it has to be admitted perhaps it was the result of alcohol fuelled rage quite common among rabid South American fans, especially in the night club district at 3.30am. Doubts have to be taken from the fact that it was the USA's first goal that Escobar put into his net not the eventual "winner".That other "stars' did not perform is hearsay not proof of gambling money revenge. Unusual results are not uncommon in football. In the 1950 World Cup the USA put out in early rounds what was widely recognised as the best team in the world at that time,England.Sensation and disbelief were the result As I have explained in my answer to Kasey,Hungary had not lost a game in 2 years when they went to the '54 W.C. yet W.Germany, who not many realise were at that time an amateur team,, beat them 3-2 in the final. '66 saw the emergence of another dark horse in North Korea who had a wonderful tournament just falling to PORTUGAL in the never to be forgotten "Eusebio tie" All these games and teams had doubts surrounding them but the only one that ever created investigation in later years was the West German success and as I said this was issued with a "nothing was proved" verdict. jb
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Wow .. your sport is imploding into obscurity & you're banging on about this? Don't forget to pick up the hypodermics before you leave - we don't want our kids stepping on used needles.
MV Dave
Guest
Some bloke called Robbo for starters...
MV Dave
Guest
Absolutely brilliant find Mid...loved it. What a great story to bring a smile in such a difficult week. Wonder if The Age or HS would dare to put this front and centre on their website?