Top 10 Biggest Scandals In World Football History
The biggest scandal in football history - the beautiful game fondly known as football will remain beautiful for the foreseeable future.
As it continues to provide unparalleled entertainment and ecstatic sensations to viewers from the four corners of the universe, it has become arguably the most coveted and loved sport in the world. However, it can get ugly at times - however, due to the various scandals that stand out and shake the football world at certain times.
It can take multiple angles, often involves both main and supporting characters, and many instances can be pointed out. Over the past few years, the sport has seen many infamous scandals that have upset viewers.
From football's governing body embroiled in corruption to teams fixing matches and players breaking the law, here are the top 10 scandals in football history:
Top 10 Biggest Football Scandals In Histry (2023)
Here are the biggest scandals in football history
- Football Scandal (2006)
- 2009 Nigerian Age Fraud Case
- The 2005 Bundesliga match-fixing scandal
- The 2005 Bundesliga scandal
- FIFA corruption scandal
- Brazil's 2014 spending scanda
- Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and underage sex worker Zahia De Haar
- John Terry's affair with Wayne Bridge's wife Vanessa Peroncel
- Mark Clattenburg's accusations of racism
- Rio Ferdinand's drug test
- The murder of Andres Escobar
10. Andre Escobar's murder - a football scandal
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Colombian soccer star Andres Escobar was killed after scoring an own goal in the 1994 World Cup.
Football, as it is, can sometimes be affected by many factors. Gambling is one of them. The danger grew when Colombian Andres Escobar was killed in a car park a full 10 days after his own goal led to Colombia's disqualification from the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Escober struggled to clear a USA pass from behind and accidentally sent the ball into his own goal trying to clear it out of safety. Columbia fans aren't surprised and won't make excuses.
They accused him of doing it deliberately for gaming reasons, which eventually led to his untimely death.
Although then-coach Francisco Maturana initially blamed the civil unrest in Colombia at the time for his murder, drug cartel bodyguard Humberto Castro Munoz admitted to shooting Escobar because his unfortunate mistake had cost the bets, and perceptions have changed.
9. Rio Ferdinand's drug test
the worst scandal in football
Rio Ferdinand was banned for eight months after failing a drugs test in 2003
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Compared to other equally popular sports, soccer seems pretty light when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs and drug testing. But in 2003, Rio Ferdinand was one of the few to break the law, serving an eight-month ban after missing a scheduled test (via BBC Sport).
His ban saw the US international fined £50,000 and miss Euro 2004. The reason why Ferdinand missed the test remains a mystery, but the centre-back has been very successful in his time with the Red Devils, absolving him of blame in many minds.
8. Mark Clattenburg's accusations of racism
Premier League referee acquitted of racism charges
Clattenburg allegedly racially abused Chelsea midfielder Mikel
It's one thing when players are accused of racism on the pitch, but it's quite another when accusations are leveled at referees, as referees are there to make sure these things don't become problems.
In 2012, the Daily Mail reported that two Chelsea players, who did not want to be named, said they had heard referee Mark Clattenburg make racist comments against Manchester United.
Chelsea later said they regretted how the whole incident was handled (BBC Sport), but the impact was still felt at the time.
7. John Terry's relationship with Wayne Bridge's wife Vanessa Peroncell
Wayne Bridge is devastated after his Chelsea team-mate John Terry allegedly had an affair with wife Vanessa Peroncell.
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Bridges and Terry, who also played for England at one time, were believed to be good friends before the incident.
Bridges then refused to play for England if he had to play alongside John Terry.
He attended the game against Chelsea after reports of his alleged extramarital affair emerged and refused to shake Terry's hand.
Having been stripped of the captaincy by Fabio Capello before the World Cup and facing a lot of criticism, the former Chelsea defender has also had a tough time since the incident.
6. Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and underage sex worker Zahia De Haar
The trio are believed to have had sex with an underage sex worker
Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou are involved in a sex scandal involving sex worker Zahia de Haar when she was a teenager.
She is accused of having sex with all three footballers when she was under 18, although Ribery and others say they did not know her age when they became involved in the incident.
She said they were all nice to her and she was surprised they might face criminal charges in the future.
5. The Brazilian consumer scandal of 2014
One of the most recent World Cup scandals occurred a few years ago when Brazil hosted the famous tournament in 2014. to host a mega competition, some money had to be spent on stadiums, residential facilities and more.
While that wasn't a scandal in itself, the billions of dollars spent on the project were. Brazilian politicians are believed to be among those providing revenue for the hugely expensive construction project.
The bill has been criticized as embarrassing for two reasons. The accusers say it affects the likely outcome of the next government election and takes government money away from the masses for things they need.
Because this sport is supposed to be free of politics, it is destroying Brazilian football.
4. FIFA corruption scandal - football scandal
The governing body of football has been accused of corruption
It was one of the biggest sports corruption scandals of all time. Swiss police have raided a luxury hotel in Zurich, arresting seven FIFA executives.
The arrests, in cooperation with the FBI, follow years of alleged corruption at world soccer's governing body, which awarded Qatar the 2022 World Cup despite the wealthy nation having no soccer culture or history.
Another 14 current and former FIFA officials were arrested for blatant, systemic and entrenched corruption, and in December another 16 were arrested for extortion, conspiracy and corruption at the same hotel where they were arrested.
The arrests ended the careers of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini, who were both handed eight-year bans from any football-related activity. The pair were found guilty of breaching a £1.3million payment. Platini in 2011.
FIFA as an organization has been charged with 47 different crimes by US prosecutors, who led the investigation after it was discovered that US bank accounts were used to transfer illicit funds.
US authorities charged the 14 defendants with racketeering, money laundering and money laundering, alleging that FIFA officials engaged in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international football.
FIFA officials agreed to accept bribes to select South Africa to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, according to the former secretary general of CONCACAF, which handles soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Another conspirator accepted bribes to vote for Morocco at the 1998 World Cup in France, while he and others accepted bribes for broadcasting rights and other rights, he said.
3. The 2005 Bundesliga
Germany's top soccer league has documented several scandals over the years, including Hertha Berlin's illegal payments to players in 1965 to gain an unfair competitive advantage (consistent with circumventing the salary cap), or the suspension or fine of more than 50 players, managers and officials. on match-fixing in 1971.
There have been many scandals, but the most attention came in 2005 when Division II umpire Robert Heuser, several other officials and even some managers and players worked closely with an organized crime syndicate to solve a brawl.
problems. the result. To make matters worse, the scandal occurred as Germany prepared to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It was later revealed that Heuser was responsible for most of the match-fixing in the lower levels of German football, manipulating match results through controversial penalties and sending off opponents.
2. 2009 Nigerian Age Fraud Case
Age fraud has long been a problem in football, and the topic resurfaced in 2014 after Lazio signed 17-year-old Cameroonian midfielder Joseph Minar.
According to Senegalese media, the player is actually 41 years old and is just one of many African players who claim to be younger to gain a competitive edge.
Age fraud has been a problem in African football for years, with Nigeria having the worst reputation for hiding the ages of players, although both the player and his club strongly denied the allegations.
In 1988, Nigeria was banned from all FIFA competitions because three players in the country's Olympic team had a different date of birth than in previous competitions.
But the biggest case of age fraud came to light in Nigeria before the U17 World Cup in 2009. Nigeria has dropped 15 players from the squad after FIFA announced it would introduce new measures to verify the age of players participating in matches.
Several Nigerian officials have since acknowledged that age fraud is widespread in the country, and in 2010 the former president of the Nigerian Football Association said of age fraud: We cheat all the time, that's a fact.
1. The Phonegate Scandal (2006)
World football was rocked by the Calciopoli scandal in 2006, when it was revealed that many of Italy's top clubs were involved in influencing the appointment of referees for their games, among various other allegations.
Any football lover knows all too well that even one wrong call by the referee can change the overall outcome of a match.
For this reason, when some Italian teams picked matches where the referees favored them in 2006, it ended up being one of the most popular scandals in the long and illustrious history of the sport.
While several teams were involved in the scandal and were found guilty of using certain officials to influence the outcome of matches, the most significant was Juventus, who were relegated from Serie A to Serie B as a result.
