The Malta Football Association and the police are at present investigating a good number of alleged corruption cases. These follow the various cases which have surfaced in these last few months. A former national coach was reported as having stated that these cases were just "the tip of the iceberg" (March 26). The MFA has declared that it will not tolerate corruption and that it will be coming up with new regulations to protect the beautiful game.

The football public is not surprised. It has known about these things for ages, even though little could be proved. The international media is full of football corruption stories. Hitting "football corruption" on Google returns over two million articles. Very recently, 17 people, including referees, club officials and members of the Football Federation were sentenced up to four years' imprisonment following the biggest corruption trial in Polish football history.

The Ukraine, which will be co-hosting the 2012 European Football Championships, is being rocked by corruption claims allegedly run by organised criminal gangs. In England, Harry Redknapp (the manager of Tottenham Hotspurs) and eight others have been arrested over allegations of corrupt practices.

UEFA has now received a petition to reverse the result of the 1973 European Winners Cup final (Milan beat Leeds Utd 1-0) on accusations of match fixing. Such a decision could open a can of worms. Practically, no football country, new or old, has been spared. In China the Football Association has set up a special task force with the police to stamp out rampant corruption, including gambling and match fixing. The "Calciopoli" saga seems to be never ending.

Business has permeated every aspect of our lives and corruption has become an integral part of our collective mindset. Football is a microcosm of real life. Corruption in the game has little to do with sports ethics and the drive to win games and trophies at all costs. Most corruption is about making easy money. Locally, a good number of players see football as a mere part-time job. The fact that in the recent allegations of corruption a coach, referee and a club official were also involved show that no one is spared the temptation.

Transparency International, the global non-governmental organisation against corruption, states that "to create a world free of corruption, its causes and consequences must be understood". Corruption in sports is not confined to football. Aside from perverting an athlete's or club's role-model function and disappointing fans, sport corruption often has links to organised crime, money laundering and big-ticket corruption, such as large bribes paid for sport facility construction contracts. Corruption is as serious a threat to sport as doping, but it has the potential to inflict much greater damage on communities.

It is estimated that the legal online worldwide sports betting industry, of which football has the biggest part, has a turnover of over €16 billion. If all betting (including illegal gambling) is included the figure shoots up to an impressive €500 billion. With such big money at play, temptations have multiplied geometrically. Last November, addressing a conference on the subject, Joseph Blatter, FIFA president, said: "Modern technologies and, in particular, the opportunities opened up by the internet in terms of sports betting, are creating new dangers for our sport. Attempts to manipulate matches are becoming ever more clever and are endangering the integrity of the game." (Fifa.com. November 10, 2008).

In 2006, FIFA founded Early Warning Systems GmbH to monitor and detect irregular activities in football betting circles. Cooperation with bookmakers and betting companies plays a crucial role. FIFA has also set up an Ethics Commission to look deeper into this area and recommend corrective measure. Still, FIFA is often criticised for doing too little, too late. A web of patronage and personal connections infects football's governing bodies themselves.

Andrew Jennings in his book "Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: bribes, vote rigging and ticket scandals" (2006) points a damning finger at Blatter himself. Mr Jennings gives proof of vote rigging and explains how the organisation is run on the exchange of promises and favours; mismanagement, misbehaviour and the pursuit of personal gain. FIFA itself has an annual turnover of €600 million.

Corruption in football has come a long way since 1884, when Preston North End were expelled from the FA Cup after the club admitted to having paid its own players. In those days football was an informal affair; now it is a full-fledged industry bringing together clubs, associations, suppliers (such as Nike), sponsors (Heineken and many others), media companies (SkyTV etc). What has hardly changed is the fans' passion for the game.

UEFA is sending clear messages that it will not tolerate corruption and it has declared war on betting syndicates and match-fixing. The MFA on its part needs to be more vigilant and proactive and to work hand-in-hand with the football clubs themselves. There is no room for complacency. By itself, the iceberg will not melt away.

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