English football has a problem. A brown envelope, murky, underhand problem that has come to the fore with the recent allegations against a number of professional footballers, where it is claimed that they deliberately got themselves booked in exchange for money.
Betting is engrained as deeply into English football as the idea that you can beat your opponent by out-running them. Many players bet. It is a ritual to go into the clubhouse after a game and check your accumulator slips before inevitably discarding them after a series of losses. Players love the thrill of winning; be it on the pitch or in the bookies. A bad day on the pitch can often be forgotten with a good day in the bookies.
The rules on betting aren’t well-known in football circles. Even at the top level players can fall foul of the laws. Just this year Andros Townsend was given a four month ban from football, three of which were suspended, after he was found guilty of betting on games in competitions that he had played in. Townsend in his defence said that he thought he was only banned from betting on Tottenham games.
Betting is just one step away from something harder. At the top end of the game, where extortionate salaries dictate lives, match fixing is, on the whole, unnecessary. Players still bet, but they have no need, other than obscene greed, to deal in brown envelopes. It is at the lower end of the game, where players are plagued by job insecurity and a fear of retirement, that match fixing can take place in a more brazen fashion.
For lower league players these fears are very real. Rupert Murdoch’s Skysation of English football has led to a culture of cut-throat capitalism. Managers are changed at the drop of the hat. A change in manager can lead to a host of new players coming into a team, with players who were previously key squad members being frozen out into the reserves or lower leagues. For those plying their trade just above the depths of the Conference this has immense repercussions. Injuries are even worse. One bad injury and that could be a career, an income, gone forever.
Much like higher up the footballing pyramid, many lower league players are poorly educated. The prospect of finding a new career and income after football can frighten them. Most will have come through apprenticeship schemes at professional clubs where the best education they could hope for would be two A-levels. Sure, they might have picked up a couple of coaching badges along the way, but coaching isn’t for everyone. Unlike those who played at the top-level, they have not earned enough from their short career to never have to work again. Most have families to provide for. These families will be used to living a comfortable life thanks to a healthy income. The player himself will be used to a life of excess. The culture of football is very much a materialistic one. If you don’t have the most up-to-date car, the newest fashion, the latest boots, then you risk the very real threat of being an outcast from the group. To partake in this culture, to be accepted into the group, in addition to providing for a family, requires a healthy income. But how can this be sustained if the healthy income is suddenly terminated?
This is not to advocate the actions of any of the accused. But for a game whose integrity was corrupted by Murdoch’s millions is it really that surprising? Who isn’t exploited in this new era of football? The fans who are charged extortionate prices to watch their team? The players who are treated as objects by power hungry chairmen? The hundreds of backroom staff who are paid a relative pittance despite the ridiculous turnover of the football club? I guess the biggest surprise would be if this spot fixing wasn’t widespread. After all, just how much of a risk is a late challenge when £70,000 is at stake?
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