FIFA Probe

Just how corrupt can a sports body be?

admin: Soccer has lots of problems that go beyond corruption. Soccer is fanatical in Europe, way more so than any sport in any other region of the world. Not only has there been rampant accusations of corruption over the past two decades, but also dozens of riots between football clubs and violent crimes committed towards securing team positions in higher leagues of the game.

Blackflag: To be fair, that's true to a degree of fanatical fans of any sport. Drunk people + issues to get passionate about = social unrest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism

admin: Maybe you don't understand the scope. There has been more disorderly conduct and violence in soccer than any other sport in existence. Cheering fans outside the safety of the stadium are at risk of being attacked by fanatics, and most of them are not drunk, they just do it for a living.

Another huge problem with soccer is the amount of neo-fascist and neo-nazi groups that use the sport to push their views. Often you can find gangs of neo-nazi's across European soccer matches raising up propaganda and harassing the players.

admin: That is just what I know personally. Any European will tell you the same. Go to Germany, Spain, and Italy. They will tell you all about how fierce soccer becomes as soon as high school.

Blackflag: Sure, but I mean, baseball has the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night to its name and numerous gangs specifically associated with it. Soccer just happens to have the most problems of that nature because it is the most popular.

Blackflag: I'm not doubting you BTW. My grandfather was a pro soccer player at one point in Europe haha, the same has been going on since forever.

admin: Okay, forms of hooliganism exist in every sport, but by my contention not nearly as rampant as in soccer. I'm not sure about any baseball gangs outside of Central America, but we do have many gangs that imitate American Football teams, although it is more of a gang colors thing rather than a Football fanaticism thing.

I remember the first time I was in Melbourne during the finals of the AFL. I didn't have an AFL team to back, but my home Rugby team in Hawkes Bay is the Magpies, so when my Taxi driver asked me who I barracked for, I said I'd been thinking about going for the Collingwood Magpies.

Turns out Collingwood is the most hated team in Australia. My Taxi driver immediately pulled to the side of the road and was about to kick me out of the cab until I finished my sentence and told him I'd decided to go with Saint Kilda instead.

He was dead serious too. Those guys are crazy for that stupid game.

admin: Just read Freakanomics.