Up until now, I had always assumed – somewhat naively apparently – that the current incarnation of English football was immune to the ‘fixing’ disease.

Not only is there so much legitimate money rolling around the sport that players shouldn’t need the extra cash, but the very idea of players doing that sort of thing just doesn’t sound particularly, well, English.

But revelations over the past couple of weeks have shown otherwise: while it may not be as rife or high level as in some other countries, two recent newspaper stings have shown it does take place.

The first case that was exposed involved non-league matches and, while that is still despicable, at least it didn’t strike at the very heart of the professional game. Though still unacceptable, the fact that it involved part-time players on low wages made it more understandable.

The second case, however, involved six people, including active players in both the Championship and League One, besides an ex-Premier League and international player.

And when fixing happens at those sort of levels it really is worrying.

Fair enough, we are talking about spot fixing here (getting booked on purpose, for example) and not actually throwing games or specifically influencing their outcome. But that doesn’t make it any less skin-crawlingly abhorrent.

Even if, and that remains an enormous if, these are nothing more than isolated incidents involving just a handful of greedy, immoral and despicable morons, it is going to cast doubt on the integrity of English football as a whole.

How many times do you see a player make a pointless tackle or commit a stupid offence for no readily apparent reason? A rash hand ball when there is no need for it or giving away a corner when it would be easier to clear the ball.

Instead of just thinking that was a stupid thing to do or laughing at the errors, we are now going to start wondering if the player in question was paid for his troubles.

And for that reason more than any other, everybody involved in these two cases – assuming they are all found guilty, of course, needs to have the book thrown at them as hard as legally possible.

Not only should they never be allowed to play football again, they shouldn’t even be allowed to go into a stadium. In fact, they shouldn’t even be allowed to watch football at home on television or talk about it with their children.

Their greed has tarnished the image of English football and cast a shadow over the game as a whole that will hang around for years.

And for that they deserve nothing less than a miserable, football-less life.

Sowing seeds of a good cup

One of the most exciting parts about the third round of the FA Cup is the way it throws up fascinating clashes between big boys (who join in at this stage) and the little teams that have battled their way through.

But in recent years that just hasn’t been happening. For some reason, and it can only be the luck of the draw I guess, we are ending up with a lot of mediocre and uninteresting games and none of these dream ties.

For example, non-league Kidderminster Harriers have kicked and punched their way through to the third round, putting in some brilliant performances and knocking out league teams on their way.

And their reward for all that effort? A third round tie at home to Peterborough.

No offence to Peterborough, but is that what Kidderminster have been fighting for? I don’t think so. They would have wanted, to say the least, a slightly more glamorous tie involving a bigger club and a better financial rewards.

And that’s why I am in total agreement with football pundit Adrian Durham who suggested a few days ago that this round of the FA Cup, rather than entirely randomly drawn, should be seeded.

Durham proposed that Premier League teams and those in the top 12 places in the Championship should all be stuck in one pot and the rest in another. That way dull games like West Bromwich Albion vs Crystal Palace would be done away with (at least at this stage), and the small teams would have a greater chance of earning a big pay day.

The downside to this, of course, is that teams like Kidderminster would probably have less chance of making it through to the fourth round, which may be a little unpalatable to the purists.

But I am sure their players and fans would take a day out at Anfield over the chance of maybe beating Peterborough any day of the week…

Brave Daley won’t inspire a gay revolution

Olympic 10-metre diver Tom Daley announced earlier this month that he is ‘dating a man’, making him one of the most high-profile British sportsmen ever to come out.

The Commonwealth and World Champion made his announcement at the age of 19, which is particularly admirable considering he is still in the relatively early stages of his sporting career.

Other gay sportsmen that have gone public with their sexuality (and there have only been a few) have generally waited until they all but ready to retire, fearful of an adverse reaction from supporters as well as potential lost sponsorship and endorsement revenue.

Daley, however, decided there was no time like the present and took to You Tube to tell the world how happy he is with his boyfriend.

It is a move that has been widely described as brave, and I would have to agree. While society as a whole may have become more mature and grown-up about people’s sexuality, some sports fans are not nearly as accepting.

There is still a stigma attached to the concept of sporting icons being anything other than bog standard heterosexual.

Daley making the move he did at the time he did was essentially him prioritising his personal happiness. And he went ahead with it despite some members of his family trying to persuade him otherwise.

Of course, only time will tell what sort of effect it has on his career. But I suspect he isn’t overly concerned, which is fair play to the lad.

Daley’s move has prompted some observers to suggest gay footballers should follow his lead and come out rather than living an unhappy lie.

Instead of thinking that was a stupid thing to do, we are now going to start wondering if the player was paid for his troubles

There are currently no openly gay players in any of the top leagues in England or Scotland. And with thousands of professional footballers in those leagues, it is mathematically impossible that every single one of them is heterosexual.

In an ideal world, Daley coming out would be the catalyst that triggers a wave of similar announcements in the football world. It would be a huge moment in the history of football if this ridiculous barrier could be broken down once and for all.

However, there is a world of difference between diving and football (apart from where Ashley Young is concerned, of course), and the reception Daley gets when he next steps out at the pool will be monumentally different to the way a hostile football crowd would treat a player who has announced he is gay.

Football fans are happy to beat opposition players with any stick they can get their hands on. And in the macho, chauvinistic world of football, sticks don’t get much more tempting than sexuality.

Of course, I could be completely wrong. A top player may come out tomorrow and get a standing ovation from all four sides of the ground when he next takes to the pitch. But somehow I suspect that wouldn’t be the case. And, even if it was, it certainly wouldn’t last.

And that’s why I seriously doubt Daley’s brave announcement will spark a gay revolution within football.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade