Corruption in Spanish football

[corkbarry]

A long read but a good one, i wish they would do it in England


http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/04/17/ine ... 27818.html

[QuartzGooner]

Very interesting article.

I think it is going to happen more in England, as the government clamp down on tax avoidance.

[northbank123]

Interesting read. Particularly the bit about Rayo Vallecano employing a priest who had a win bonus

So much of it comes down to football clubs being given ridiculous leeway by the government and local authorities. The agreement Real had where the local government rezoned the land they owned in exchange for a portion so that they could both sell to investors and make a ridiculous profit is pretty well-documented. But how are these other clubs with modest revenues able to rack up such astounding tax bills?

May seem harsh but HMRC will try and wind established clubs up over tax bills of less than £1m - how many clubs here fuck around with paying tax? Atletico Madrid owe 115m euros in tax - you'd think that the money raised selling Torres and Aguero would largely be ringfenced to pay off this astounding debt? Nope, free to spend it on Falcao. Their approach may help football clubs but with their economy in tatters (and heading south) how can the government justify jeopardising the £1bn+ owed to them by football clubs?

[DB10GOONER]

Both the Italian and Spanish game have been historically corrupt for decades. FIFA and especially UEFA won't do anything about it because they are afraid of the Spanish and Italian FA's which are both totally corrupt organisations at heart. If the English game was this corrupt UEFA in particular would come crashing down on it like a tonne of bricks, mostly because of The Poodle's hatred of the English.

[GranadaJoe]

A friend of mine was a coach at a professional Spanish team and saw the President of the club hand over cash to the referee and later to the goalkeeper and centre half of the opposing team.
During the match a blatant foul was committed by the CB, a penalty awarded by the ref, and the GK got nowhere near it.

It's generally accepted that it goes on at all levels.