Michael Laudrup's Suitcase Of Worms

[themn]

http://news.sky.com/story/987968/laudrup-fine-with-paying-rivals-to-win-games

*click the link for the video clip*

Laudrup Fine With Paying Rivals To Win Games

Swansea boss has no problem offering cash incentives to other teams ahead of important matches.​

3:50pm UK, Friday 21 September 2012​

Video: Laudrup fine with paying teams to beat rivals

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup has no problem with teams paying rival sides to win games.​

Laudrup says there is nothing wrong with offering rival teams a cash bonus to win certain fixtures.​

Accepting money to influence the outcome of a match is against Football Association and Premier League rules.​

But Laudrup says he has no issue with Spain's so-called "suitcase" culture, saying the practice does not constitute match-fixing.​

The Dane claims he is absolutely against match fixing, but believes the term needs to be better defined.​

"If Swansea play the last game [of the season] against a team, and a third team pays Swansea to win the game, I really don't see anything bad about that," Laudrup said.​

"It's just a bonus. For me, match-fixing is when somebody pays someone to lose a game. In Spain where there's one or two matches left in a season we always talked about the suitcases.​

"But the suitcase is to win - I don't see anything bad about that."​

The FA rulebook explicitly forbids payments of this nature, under rule E5 paragraph A which states: "A participant shall not, directly or indirectly, offer, agree to give, give, solicit, agree to accept or accept any bribe, gift or reward or consideration of any nature which is, or could appear to be related in any way to seeking to influence the outcome or conduct of a match or competition."​

 

[Judge Jules]

Wow. What price a summons to explain those remarks dropping through his letterbox early next week?

 

[keniget]

All football is corrupt. We should know this.

 

[Judge Jules]

For sure, but you don't generally get the fact advertised quite that nonchalantly.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Tbh I'm not sure he's that wrong.

Being offered money from a third party to win a game is kind of a bonus.

Of course it makes the assumption that player's always want to win every match anyway, but under that assumption being paid to win isn't effecting that result.

 

[Portly]

Laudrup says that paying players to lose is bad and corrupt. But there is nothing wrong with paying players to win. DIfficult to argue with really? 😕

 

[Judge Jules]

There's nothing wrong with players' clubs paying them to win. Outsiders doing so on the hush-hush is another matter though. Accept that and you officially sanction the possibility that players might, under other circumstances, accept payment for other outcomes entirely. We can't have that. No-one despises the FA more than I do, but I agree with their rule in this case.

 

[Cerberus]

Nice thread title.

 

[peterhague]

Tbh I'm not sure he's that wrong.

Being offered money from a third party to win a game is kind of a bonus.

Of course it makes the assumption that player's always want to win every match anyway, but under that assumption being paid to win isn't effecting that result.

Yes, I think I agree.

 

[jon545660]

Is it really a "3rd party" when it's a payment from another team involved in the same competition?

 

[peterhague]

Is it really a "3rd party" when it's a payment from another team involved in the same competition?

Of course!

 

[jon545660]

Of course!

Ha! Well yes technically, but you know what I mean.

 

[Molbystwin]

Im not sure how to read that, superb former player is bitter about lesser players now earning ten times what he ever did or just one of the dumbest remarks ever. So the teamyou offer an incentive to win.... what if you offer the incentive one year but not the next, is it assumed they will then not bother? its pure corruption waiting to happen is what that is.... dozy dozy comments.

 

[Markeh]

Whats the point in paying people to win? A lot of the time you're gonna get nothing for your money.

The only time I can see it making a tangible difference is if a team is likely to rest players for a match and they could be paid to field a strong side.

 

[Vlads Quiff]

Laudrup says that paying players to lose is bad and corrupt. But there is nothing wrong with paying players to win. DIfficult to argue with really? 😕

Fucking hell why didn't we hit on this before....We could pay our players to win!!

 

[peterhague]

Whats the point in paying people to win? A lot of the time you're gonna get nothing for your money.

The only time I can see it making a tangible difference is if a team is likely to rest players for a match and they could be paid to field a strong side.

Well as he says the end of the season would be the time, as many clubs have little to play for and take their foot off the pedal, therefore distorting the results and the league.