FRIDAY, MAY 03, 2024
Ajit John
Last week Friday Herald broke a story that was heartbreaking. The Asian Football Federation had red-flagged the state association about six matches played in the Goa Professional League on suspicion of suspicious betting indicative of match manipulation. The reporter spoke to various players who confirmed this was happening. Players were offered anywhere between Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 60,000 per game for non-performance. This is a disease that can wreck the game in the state. There are fans in the state numbering in the tens of thousands and many were more than ready to offer their views on this worrying development and the steps that could be taken to ensure it never happened again.
Manjunath Naik a businessman from Sanguem who has loved the game from the time he kicked his first football in school felt that wherever money flows, corruption often followed. He felt that if people felt matches were fixed then people would lose interest which would be a death knell for the game. He felt like in the private a public sector there ought to be a code of conduct in the sports field. He said “Most sports, too, have written codes of conduct that bind participants, and most players are obliged to sign such a code as part of their contracts. This should be implemented. Football cannot tackle the fixing gambling alone All the other parties should come along to tackle this serious situation. I also feel players should be paid a fair sum to remove that nagging fear of poverty that could be their companion after their competitive days were over”.
Roysten Moraes another businessman from Velim felt that all financial transactions of the players, coaches, and management of the clubs identified by the AFC should be audited by an independent agency so that truth could prevail. The guilty would then have to face the law. Roysten felt this had to be done because young talent coming through the system and they could be affected. He also felt that the young players would have to show the gumption to face up to such challenges and say no.
Mario Barreto from Candolim felt that questions would now have to be asked about those goalkeepers who made half-hearted attempts and players who picked up yellow cards and more importantly why deserving players were left on the bench. Questions he said also had to be asked as to whether the management was involved in this and how was it possible for players earning Rs. 7000-Rs 15,000 to be able to own luxurious gadgets. He felt the state federation ought to crack the whip and not allow the clubs to compete professionally.
Asher Antao a student from Navelim described the sense of sadness felt by many friends aptly. He said “ I used to travel a lot to village tournaments at Uttorda, Goa Velha, and at times to Duler to watch matches of the Goa pro league. But after reading the reports as a fan I feel that it was a waste of my time. No wonder I used to see people abuse and at times swing bottles on the ground. Now it looks that it was the people's frustration who have placed bets in such local tournaments. People used to get involved in small-time betting and when results were not as desired their frustration used to reflect from the stands”. He went on to say that Goan football was now infected with a dangerous virus that needed to be tackled if football had to be developed.
Rohan Rodrigues a businessman said he was not surprised because betting he said existed in dhirio (bullfights) as well as inter-village football, so its prevalence in the professional league was not surprising. He said “The only way to curb this is by tracking the matches and imposing strict penalties, for example, suspending or relegating teams like how the Italian federation did to Juventus in 2006. Apart from this, the young budding footballers should be taught about integrity and honesty in sports and it should be made compulsory in all sports academies”.
Perhaps the setting up of an independent panel investigation these claims could help the game tide over this crisis. Siddharth Mehta who follows the game passionately felt big business houses and money-making sharks were now involved in using football to mint money. He felt that such teams ought to be banned from participating in tournaments until they were investigated and declared clean. Match-fixing could mar the popularity and growth of the game and perhaps even dissuade youngsters from taking up the game. He said, “ People have indicated that players are being paid in cash over the alleged dealing to play as per instructions but as a fan, it defeats the purpose to support such people as not only they destroying their ethics for the game but also setting a dangerous trend for the rest who want to take up the sport “.
One can only hope the authorities clamp down with a heavy hand because this is about the future of the most popular sport in the state and also for all those thousands of children who would one day like to play like Mandar or even Maradona.
