"There's Something Rotten in the State of Denmark"

Fans First?
By EmptyRed
September 22 2006

Following the shock allegations of bribery within English football following BBC's recent Panorama programme, EmptyRed delivers a passionate address on the state of the game in his latest ManUtdWeb column.

To borrow a quote from William Shakespeare, our game is starting to smell a bit fishy indeed. We all probably chuckled at the demise of Italian giants Juventus, but now the stain of corruption has truly been exposed in our game. There have always been dodgy dealings in football. Let's not pretend otherwise. However, it is time that the authorities took real and meaningful action.

Mike Newell at Luton, last season, bravely stood up and said there was corruption in what is becoming the not so beautiful game. However, everybody denied that they had come across such a thing. So Cloughie and George Graham were just a few bad apples were they? Lord Stevens’s inquiry is investigating the matter, as we speak, but will it uncover anything concrete?

What we need now is for all transfer dealings to be brought out in the open. We need to see where all the money that a club plays for a player goes. Things need to change.

• Agents, unless Fifa registered, should be banned. Any club using non-registered agents should suffer the same punishment as Juventus and be relegated a division and, if relevant, kicked out of any European competition.
• If an agent wants 10% of a transfer deal, then it comes out of their clients signing on fee and not from the buying or selling club.
• Managers caught with their hands in the till should be banned for life from ever coaching or being paid for football related matters.
• Players, who are caught, like the alleged case of Ashley Cole, trying to manufacture a move, should serve an unpaid season ban and subsequently forgo any signing on fee when they are transferred.
• Clubs who are caught tapping up, shall first be deducted 10 points, a second infringement within 2 years and they should be relegated down a division.

You may wonder, why I am being too harsh and forthright. Well its quite simple. The money that disappears out of the game is OUR money. It's why we have to keep paying more and more in ticket prices. With all the money floating about the game from the increased TV deals and increases in advertising revenue and sponsorship, why is it that fans are paying more to watch their clubs?

Corruption is a cancer, which is sucking the soul out of our game. Remember this is our game, its our money, its time the so called authorities did the right thing, now before its too late.

Save our game, before its destroyed by greed.