From drugging teammates with sleeping pills to baffling 95-0 scoreline – inside the murky world of football match-fixing

ENGLAND fans are furious after a scandal-hit referee has been chosen for tomorrow’s Euro 2024 semi-final clash.

German-born Felix Zwayer, who will oversee the Three Lions game against the Netherlands, was banned for six months for match-fixing back in 2005.

The 43-year-old had received a £250 bribe from another referee, Robert Hoyzer, who had links to a £1.7million Croatian gambling syndicate in Berlin.

While Zwayer was reinstated as a FIFA-listed ref in 2012, some fear England may be at risk of harsh treatment due to Jude Bellingham criticising him three years ago.

The Three Lions ace, then 18, previously fumed at the official in a post-match interview for not giving his side, Borussia Dortmund, a penalty while awarding one to Bayern Munich.

Bellingham, whose team lost 3-2 in the 2021 match, was fined £34,000 for raging: “You can look at a lot of decisions in that game.

“You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?”

Zwayer was one of five refs who helped to expose crooked Hozyer – who was jailed two-and-a-half years and given a lifetime ban from working in the sport. 

Sadly match-fixing is nothing new in the world of football – here we reveal some of the utterly astounding scandals.

Drugging teammates

Back in 2011, a clash between Italian third-division teams Cremonese and Paganese became famous for all the wrong reasons.

Observers noticed Cremonese’s players looked sluggish and reported feeling tired during the match.

Some were reported to have struggled to walk and one member of the team crashed his car while driving home from the match.

It later transpired that Cremonese’s goalkeeper Marco Paolini had been drugging his teammates with sleeping pills in a bid to pay off gambling debts.

The footballer, who had placed the drug in their water bottles, was banned for five years after an FA investigation found links to disgraced Singapore businessman Dan Tan.

95-0 win

Most football fans would be happy with their side winning a match by a couple of goals – but in Sierra Leone eyebrows were raised by two surprisingly flattering score lines in 2022. 

Gulf FC and Kenama were both investigated by the nation’s football association after the teams managed to score in excess of 90 goals each.

It followed Gulf beating Koquima 91-1 – after being ahead 7-1 in the first half – and Kenama thrashing Lumbebu United 95-0 after leading 2-0 before the second half commenced.

The two results were annulled due to allegations of match manipulation and the Sierra Leona Football Association launched an investigation.

The four teams were initially suspended by organisers. Later they were forced to replay the matches and put investigation.

Totenero scandal

Totenero remains the world’s most famous match-fixing scandal – and led to a staggering 21 players, club owners and officials being given prison time.

It came to light after an Italian newspaper discovered two greengrocers in Rome had masterminded a ring to facilitate teams to throw matches.

They had bribed players including some from the football team Lazio, who were regulars in the restaurant, before eventually running out of money. 

The 1980 scandal, dubbed ‘totenero’ – the Italian word for illegal gambling – led to both Lazio and AC Milan being relegated from Serie A.

Of the arrests, the most notable was Perugia forward Paolo Rossi – who was banned for two years before representing Italy at the 1982 World Cup, where he was the tournament’s top goalscorer.

Disgrace of Gijon

While FIFA stated no rules had been broken, many were furious after a match between West Germany and Austria during 1982 World Cup.

For both teams to progress through the group stage at the expense of Algeria, Germany needed just a 1-0 victory over the rivals.

The only goal of the match came within 10 minutes of the game and after players passed the ball between them unwilling to compete further.

Algeria were knocked out of the tournament and angry fans posed in front of photographers with money showing their disapproval of how the game had been fixed.

The game – dubbed ‘the disgrace of Gijon’ – led FIFA to introduce a new rule for all final group games to be played simultaneously.

Referee outrage

In 2006, Italian football suffered yet another scandal when police intercepted phone calls that revealed club officials had arranged for favourable referees. 

Teams including Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina were found to have been involved in conversations with the referee organisations. 

It led to prison sentences and football bans for Fiorentina’s co-owner Andrea Della Valle and Juventus director Luciano Moggi. 

Of the teams involved, Juventus received the heftiest punishment with them being stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated to Series B.

It led to a number of the team’s star players including Fabio Cannavaro and Zlatan Ibrahimovic leaving the club. 

Nearly 35 international footballers left the Italian league as a result of the scandal and moved to teams in other European leagues. 

146 goals

In another scandal involving absurd scorelines, four teams were banned from Nigeria’s lower league after 146 goals were scored in two matches.

Both Plateau United Feeders and Police Machine were battling for promotion in 2013 but faced large goal differences so the teams took it into their own hands.

Plateau United Feeders were 7-0 up at half-time against Akurba FC but went on to score a staggering 72 more goals.

Similarly, Police Machine won 67-0 against Babyaro FC after being 6-0 ahead at halftime.

The games saw one player score 11 times, three own goals and new footballs being used instead of retrieving balls from the back of the net. 

All four teams were banned for 10 years due to the “shameful incident”.

Deliberate own goal

In Brazil, at least two footballers were sacked after a bizarre own goal one minute before the end of the match.

In footage from the game, it appeared that midfielder Julio Campos kick the ball into his own net on purpose and the goalkeeper did nothing to stop it.

The game finished with Campos’ team, Atletico Amazonense, losing 4-1 to rivals Sul America in 2022.

Two players were fired after the incident and regional prosecutors were asked to launch an investigation into match-fixing.

The loss ruled the team out of the race for promotion to Brazil’s top tier and the club’s president Henrique Barbosa was furious.

In a statement, the club branded the actions “serious sabotage” and said Campos had an “unethical attitude” and “was determined to sabotage his own side” from the “beginning of the game”.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk