Corruption, Serie A, Romanov and the SFA

Recent events surrounding Juventus and indeed the whole of Serie A it seems brought this rather painful of memories back to me. It would appear that the "paranoid" followers of Inter Milan, who claimed back in 1998 that there was a bias towards the old lady of Italian football, were not paranoid at all. (There was an infamous 1-0 league deciding win this season for Juventus over Inter which also featured a refereeing display so incompetent Graeme Poll would be proud.

Of course the idea of "establishment teams" or "big teams" being favoured by referees is a common one across Europe and I'm sure the world. However as the scandal unfolds a very significant change is taking place. It is being PROVEN, and if it is possible in one of Europe and the world’s biggest and most powerful leagues then surely it is at least within the realms of possibility it could occur in one of European footballs backwaters?

One of the main allegations being investigated is that Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi was in contact with Pierluigi Pairetto, vice chairman of the Uefa referees committee and pressured him into appointing referees who would favour Juventus (whether this had anything to do with the unfortunate incident I refer to earlier, well ill leave that up to you to decide) Also claimed is that Moggi had control over several high profile members of the press who could be used to push his agenda.

Sound familiar?

As this scandal broke, resignations were being handed in all over Italy and especially in Turin, in an act that in no way suggested they were guilty as charged. Indeed just yesterday stand in coach Gianluca Pessotto (who is NOT implicated in the scandal) fell from the top floor of a building clutching a set of rosary beads in what is being treated by the police as a potential suicide attempt. It does not get more serious than this and we all wish Pessotto, who was basically left to pick up the pieces of his beloved club, a full and swift recovery.

Now let’s cast our mind back to more recent events here in our own footballing backwater, the SPL. During season 04-05 following events during a Hearts V Rangers match won 2-1 by Rangers due to a last minute penalty decision awarded by Andy Davis (again I’m sure you all remember) Hearts after this game famously questioned the "integrity of the decision"

This was not a demand that Davis be struck off (the linesman register), nor was it a claim that he had in fact favoured Rangers for whatever reason, nor indeed a suggestion that there was a wide reaching Moggi style conspiracy against there club and in favour of Rangers, it was merely a request that the matter be investigated. This request as we all know was rejected and Hearts were called before the SFA general purpose committee charged with bringing the game into disrepute. At the time Hearts director Sergejus Fedotovas commented "I cannot see how the club can be punished, to ask for an investigation is the basic right of any organisation in the civilised world"

Of course we all know what happened and I’m sure big Serg is now acquainted with this particular corner of the civilised world and the blazers who run the football here, that is if he is still employed down Gorgie way!

Remember at this time there was a loop hole that stopped Romanov being punished for making comments in the press which was just recently closed. The SFA found a way round it on this occasion by charging the club rather than any individual. Strange why they could do it in this case but not, for example after his "the SFA are possessed by the devil" Christmas message to fans, or indeed any of his other choice moments.

So the SFA precedent had been set, any suggestion that matches had been fixed or questioning of the match officials integrity would at least have you up before the SFA general purpose committee to explain yourselves. The Scottish press, certainly not promoting an agenda, widely applauded this decision and nodded in agreement that Romanov really was the most evil man in Scottish football since the bunnet for besmirching the honest name of one A Davis and fuelling the fires of paranoia amongst the footballing populace.

Who did this Johnny Foreigner think he was?

However Mr Romanov was at it again more recently, claiming during a recently screened documentary that the match at Parkhead last season that was drawn 1-1 was a fix. Now an allegation of match fixing, especially considering the precedent set the previous season we would expect, would be asked to be explained, possibly before the SFA, and certainly be widely criticised in the press at large. Especially considering that by this time news of the Serie A match fixing scandal had broken. Apparently not.

After a soundbite from George Foulkes the whole thing was pretty much forgotten about by the press and indeed the SFA save for a few "that Romanov is at it again" jokey comments from the agenda-less sorts who make up our media.

Now my friends you may ask why is it that a suggestion Rangers are given penalties they should not be feels the full force of the SFA and the press whereas match fixing allegations involving Celtic and Hearts are just laughed off and SFA done by the SFA. Or like myself you may feel that there’s something not quite right here in our little backwater, it hasn't quite been right for a while and the Serie A situation gives us hope that one day the lie will be exposed for what it is, similarly to the way the sectarian issue at Ibrox has been brought up in a way that even the press cannot totally ignore, through outside factors, though we all know they are doing their absolute best to blur the issue again while toeing the party line.

After all the SFA has previous in the Cadetegate affair, another incident readily forgotten by all.

The Serie A scandal only came to light because of a separate investigation into a doping scandal which led to Moggi's phone being tapped, rest assured that a scandal like this in Scotland could only be exposed by accident, as we all know the authorities don't listen to us paranoid types.

If only there was some other investigation ongoing at Ibrox by police, or even better by a foreign police force, let’s say for arguments sake the French constabulary which could lead to this scandal being exposed.

We can but hope!