It's regrettable that one of Europe's greatest football leagues has lost popularity among fans after continual scandals.
For years Italian football has been beset by a whiff of corruption after a series of match-fixing scandals undermined the integrity of games involving even the nation's biggest clubs.
If even Juventus, who are the biggest club in Italy, were relegated to Serie B for their role in Calciopoli, then how could you trust the games you were watching were not pre-determined?
But even seven years on from Juventus' relegation, a time in which they've fought back to re-establish themselves as Italian Champions, the trust in Italian football has never really recovered.
I have always loved Serie A, perhaps it goes back to the 90s when Channel 4 would be showing Football Italia; when it was arguably the greatest league at the time; the players on show with the intense rivalries, it all had me hooked. Despite its fall from grace to where it is now considered the fourth league in Europe, I would always defend Serie A when it was looked down upon.
Yet today the game took another body-blow when it was revealed that financial police have raided the offices of more than forty clubs regarding allegations of tax-evasion and money laundering.
Whilst tax-evasion is morally wrong, it would be naive to think it didn't go on in Italian football, it's also prevalent in Spanish football. It is only now in times of austerity that government has decided to crack-down on such a significant abuse of the system.
Again I understand it would be foolish to think that money-laundering is not a common practice in Italian society where many towns and cities are still affected by the mafia, but I did believe that football clubs would not be implicated in this.
On a personal level it makes for grim reading.
Furthermore, Italian football is still home to some excellent players, interesting styles of tactics and intriguing rivalries, but the question that must be asked is how long can it survive with this shadow of corruption lurking in the background?
How can the game ever develop to challenge the likes of the Premier League again when foreign fans are turning away due to corruption?
Serie A's Development Hindered by Scandal
posted on 26/6/13
sad state of affairs tbh, i think its just in the mentality of the owners tbh, dont think this affects the on-pitch credibility of the teams, its different to the Calciopoli situation,
p.s get this off the rossoneri board and onto the Bianconeri board
posted on 26/6/13
actually dont this sort of disgrace belongs at the san siro and away from the pristine Juventus stadium
posted on 26/6/13
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posted on 26/6/13
But surely the fact that all of these scandals have been unearthed indicate that there's a will to address and solve these issues. Are such efforts being made in other countries?
It reminds me in a way of the situation surrounding cycling. Doping had long been known to be rife in the sport (cases dating back to the dawn of the sport, deaths on the road, even the great Eddy Merckx returning 3 positive tests in his career). For well over half a decade now the governing bodies have gone to all sorts of pains to unmask and banish cheats, yet in return it's become arguably the most discredited and maligned sport of all.
What would we find if doping regulations and controls were as strict and exhaustive in football or other mass-spectator sports, would they be as squeaky clean as some would have us believe?
Looking at the current reputation of Italian football or cycling, it begs two questions:
Can we really trust that what none of this goes on elsewhere or at least not to anywhere near the same extent?
Are Italian football or cycling paying the price for actually trying to do something about their problems while others preserve their reputations simply by looking the other way?
posted on 26/6/13
great post IOAG, only time will tell i suppose, you could be right though
posted on 26/6/13
IOAG:
It's an excellent point. I believe corruption is rife in English football in terms of transfers, because I believe managers are getting money for making deals happen and some times there are deliberate cases of people paying over the odds. Graham Souness' signing of Boumsong for example, was what triggered HMRC investigating Rangers. I'd also not be surprised if the likes of Redknapp aren't coining in it to sign average duds yet again for inflated prices. It may not affect results, but there are people profiting from excessive transfers in my opinion.
posted on 26/6/13
Managers, agents, owners/directors...if every Liga club had its offices raided it would probably spell the end of Spanish football.
posted on 26/6/13
Yep.
We were sponsored by an airport once I think that didn't even have planes.
posted on 26/6/13
The story behind that airport illustrates why Spain's gone down the drain.
It was the whim of a provincial party leader (extremely shady character btw), who was caught on camera during the airport's opening ceremony asking his 5 year-old grandson, quote, "So, do you like grandad's airport?"
posted on 26/6/13
That's disgraceful.
Francisco Camps also mispent millions in guaranteeing the bank loans of the clubs in the Valencian region too.
Spain is in a terrible state, really sad state of affairs.