Insider gambling and the control of match outcomes by agents are the death-knell for football.
Mourinho Congratulating Business Colleague After Old Trafford Sending Off
When Sir Ferguson refused to attend the post-match press conference after Real Madrid had knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League, there was conspiratorial talk in the air of the home dressing room.
Pierluigi Collina, the UEFA Official Match Observer, had given full marks to match referee Cüneyt Çakır who had controversially sent off Nani, which was weird...
...weirder still was the fact that one agent, Jorge Mendes of Gestifute, owned the following individuals involved in the match - Ronaldo, Di Maria, Pepe, Coentrão of Real Madrid plus Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager, and Nani!
As players are with agents for life but move between clubs with regularity, this structure raises serious questions about the integrity of the match and, indeed, football in general.
World Soccer magazine, for example, suggests that next season Ronaldo will be at Paris St Germain (PSG), Di Maria at PSG or Manchester United, Mourinho at PSG or Chelsea and Nani is going to Juventus or Porto!
World Soccer: "...FIFA's new "transfer matching system", which aims to introduce transparency to traditionally secretive deals between clubs, will not solve the problem. In the meantime, FIFA's existing agent-licensing system is being wound down - and criminal gangs are taking advantage..."
Still...
It was just like going to the theatre, with all the major actors playing a part - Di Maria limps off injured, Nani gets sent off, Mourinho makes an inspired substitution, Ronaldo scores the winner but doesn't celebrate and gets applauded by the audience, Mourinho commiserates with Ferguson and claims the better team lost.
Value fucking added!!!
The Theatre of Dreams, apparently.
PC Howard Webb Trying Out Cross-Dressing Prior To A Man Utd Match
Yet Sir Ferguson bleats only about corruptions against his interests.
Ten Premier League referees have statistically "biased" data favouring Manchester United.
This season, Man Utd have not had ONE SINGLE penalty or sending off given against them in the EPL - the first time in history where a title will be won with such an "advantage".
Meanwhile, in the key away matches at Chelsea and Liverpool, United were provided with three sendings off, a penalty and an offside winning goal to help them on their way - in just two games!?
And, on Monday next, when the title will be all but secured at Old Trafford against the Noisy Neighbours, we have Mike Dean refereeing (Dean regarded Ferguson's abuse of an assistant referee during the Newcastle match in December as "reasonable and rational", and sent off Wilshire when United defeated Arsenal) and Howard Webb will stand next to Ferguson on the touchline helping events on their way as 4th Official.
Ferguson Walks Away After Shaking Rafa's Hand And Offering Advice
Then there are the betting patterns on Monday's FA Cup replay between Chelsea and Man Utd.
One of the most major sustained gambles that we have ever witnessed existed on this match with almost all major bookmakers being aware of the one-track market by kick off.
Despite the teams being each-of-two in the market at the start of April Fool's Day, much more money and virtually all of the voluminous underground trades (literally) were on Chelsea to win.
This is absolutely not a normal betting pattern on a competitive FA Cup Quarter Final between two managers who hate one another!
Now where did this market knowledge emanate from?
Shouldn't someone be blowing the whistle?
Or is it prefered that we should all get worked up about a dodgy American billionaire sacking a multi-millionaire and replacing him with a dodgy Italian fascist multi-millionaire, while "our own" multi-millionaires stash their money offshore or, in the case of Sir Ferguson, at Goldman Sachs, and the new Man Utd CEO is a multi-millionaire former investment banker from JP Morgan?
Football you can believe in :)
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