FanNation - The Republic of Sport

G.O.A.T. said 07/26, 08:00 AM
You are right, kentuckyfan, gambling scandals do leave marks on any games it affects. But the worst in the last 30 years actually happened last year, in 2006. The Italian Football Federation found out that 4 of their top teams were fixing matches. Could you imagine if Phoenix, San Antonio, Cleveland, and Detroit were all fixing matches in the playoffs this past year? Well, that's what happened in Italy for their top pro league.

But what makes this scandal even worse for Italian soccer was that they were just recovering from another scandal involving fixing matches that took place in 2000. The team that won the title that year, Juventus, had it taken away from them. That's bad, right? But then they were sent down from Serie A to Serie B (imagine an MLB team being sent down to AAA). The other three teams involved (Lazio, AC Milan, and Fiorentina) stayed in Serie A but all of them were given points penalties for the following season.

Then guess what? They found out another Serie A team, Reggina, were fixing matches as well. They were fined and given a points penalty. All the individuals involved were fined and/or suspended.

G.O.A.T. said 07/26, 08:51 AM
I'm pretty sure that Pete Rose's scandal didn't effect the baseball leagues in Japan or Cuba? No, it didn't. There is no one scandal that affects the entire sport worldwide. At least, I don't know of one that had happened. Pete Rose was one person. Now think of FIVE teams that were involved.

Now I will explain to you how it is a gambling scandal. They were fixing matches that players were betting on to make money. That's how it was a gambling scandal. I'm sorry, I probably should have explained that better.

Points taken away, fines, and suspension weren't the only things. Maybe some of you remember this. They had to play some of their home games behind closed doors. This greatly affected the league. They just played soccer matches with no crowd! And you know this as well I as do, the fans for home teams in soccer are crazy to say the least. This was terrible for the teams. Juventus had to play the most with no crowd (3).Also, the general director of Juventus was banned 5 years with the Italian football president wanting a ban for life. That was a very, very harsh punishment. One ref involved in the scandal was banned 4 years from football.

G.O.A.T. said 07/26, 03:58 PM
I think in today's sports' world, everyone is suspicious. They almost have to be with the way everyone is so money-obsessed. All sports are looked at skectically.

Did you ever hear of such a scandal that caused the teams to not allow anyone to come to the stadium and watch the game? That is the first I have ever heard of something like that.

Juventus, who was the team that won the title, is also living proof that a player or a team as a whole can be at the center of a major gambling scandal. And Pete Rose and the steroids scandal in baseball today are no way linked to one another. One is just to make money. The other is to become better at their respective sport. They're completely different.

The 2006 Serie A Scandal shook up the entire world except the United States of America. They were the only ones, and the reason being? About 85% of Americans could care less about soccer even if it is some huge scandal. So, yes, it did shake up the entire world excluding the US. But Pete Rose's only shook up baseball in America. It in no way affected the game of baseball in Central America and Asia.