As we posted last week (see: http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2007/04/subvert-divide-and-rule-bribe.html), calciocaos has spread deeper into the Italian game with Messina being added to the teams suspected of corruption and seven further referees now being banned. The seven officials are Paparesta, Bertini, Cassara, Pieri, Dattilo, Gabriele and Racalbuto. Over the current season, thirteen Italian referees have been banned or suspended at one time or another. The most entertaining reality flow over the season relates to Gianluca Paparesta. After being included in the original grouping of banned officials after moggiopoli first broke, Paparesta was suspended for a couple of months before the Italians and, indeed, UEFA welcomed him back with open arms only to have to ban the man again after 10 Serie A appearances. Paparesta has always shown a strong bias towards the right wing clubs in Serie A with Milan and Lazio, in particular, benefiting from the man from Bari. The Public Prosecutors from Napoli have markedly increased the scope of the investigation and the uncertainty with regard to further punishments and points deductions seems set to become a semi-permanent stage on which calcio is played out.
The officials that are being targeted are revealing too. Many other referees in Italy are closely linked to particular clubs, political parties, media organisations and bookmakers. The Italian authorities are facing down some aspects of the corruption but the resultant campaign has effectively been hijacked by certain power bases so that a cleansing process has become a route to gain competitive advantage.
The reaction in the British media has been disappointing too. When the current wave of corruption and manipulation in global football matches ignited a couple of years back, there were ample column inches covering the uproar in Germany, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Italy etc. However, as the reality of corruption in English football has neared the surface of the cumulative consciousness of British society, the mainstream media have decided to jump into bed with the criminals and comment is conspicuous by it's absence in a peculiarly English type of omerta. The Guardian (yet again) is particularly culpable and, with no mention whatsoever of this major upgrade in the corruption investigation in Italy, have focused exclusively on the turmoil at Arsenal without, of course, any mention of the issue of gambling income which is, effectively, the frontline between Kroenke/Dein and the current board. Entertainingly, one of their writers, David Conn (great research but no big picture overview type of journalism) in his Guardian blog assured us all that everything was just hunky dory at Arsenal just hours prior to Dein's resignation. Conn's comedy timing forced The Guardian to immediately pull his piece and replace it with a briefer post where the cheeky little imp claimed that his original post had predicted the uproar. Twaddle...
Leisure punters should take care in the Premiership markets today as the PGMOB has wheeled out the refereeing big guns for Saturday's games and, additionally, there has already been major amounts of insider trading on the Cricket World Cup match between the West Indies and England which represents the final chance for a little earner for certain members of the two teams.
Finally, the Dietrological Professional Football Information Provision Service has been purchased by one client until the close of the current season while all subscribers to the new Dietrological Leisure service will receive their first information today.
Enjoy.
