Football clubs should have audited statements to show their real financial situation, Jean Pierre Farrugia (PN) told Parliament yesterday in a speech concentrating on gambling in sports and its effects on those who took sport seriously.
He had recently asked if it was possible for the personal details of anyone buying a mobile phone to be registered, but had been told this was unnecessary. This was surprising because it was quite well known how extensively mobile phones were used for both good and bad reasons.
Reports of corruption in football had lately been heard even in connection with the national football team in 2007. That a player should stoop so low as to betray his country’s colours hurt even more than at club level. When clubs themselves gambled on match results, with the possibilities of falling victim to usury, the situation became even more worrying.
Dr Farrugia said there was always the possibility of organised but illegal gambling, but it seemed that football was especially prone to the danger.
It was not enough that club chairmen satisfied themselves of the clubs’ financial affairs. There was the impression that some had gone beyond their duties of incentivising their own players but also approached adversaries’ players. The MFA’s new leadership should look closely into such possibilities, which sometimes were openly talked about.
It was impossible for clubs to pay thousands of euros a year without any additional income from somewhere. The most mentioned source of income was clandestine gambling. Many times it could be that the extra revenue for the club came from such gambling when adversaries were known to have been corrupted.
Dr Farrugia said Malta was small and people were well known. Steps should be taken not only by the MFA but also by various agencies that could make it easier for legal companies to offer betting services for local football. Legal companies usually made for reliable audit trails.
It was unfortunate that such perceptions or loose talk by individuals put good and not-so-good club leaders in the same measure.
When a match was very important to a club, it usually incentivised its players. The real danger lay when a match was not terribly important to the club, and clandestine betting did its work.
Players unpaid for several months were especially prone to corruption, Dr Farrugia said.