The Biggest Scandals in Soccer History

Happy Monday, folks.

Two weeks ago, Manchester City were found guilty of 114 charges. Yesterday they went to Anfield, got called cheats for 90 minutes, and won 3-0 anyway. It got me thinking about the people at the top of this sport, and how often they’ve been caught with a hand in the till.

Here’s what’s on tap today:

• ⚖️ Soccer’s biggest scandals, part one: the people at the top

• 🔵 City win at Anfield, and the Champions League games worth your time this week

• 🍺 A beer with Jérémy Doku, the man who finished Liverpool off

Let’s tap in.

🥃 TOP SHELF

Soccer’s biggest scandals, part one: the people at the top

Every bar has a story the regulars only tell after they’ve had a few too many. The night the manager got caught skimming the till or the new guy who worked two days and was never seen again (neither was the bottle of top shelf scotch).

Soccer has a lot of those nights. So many that I’ve split them across two editions. Today it’s the people in charge: the officials and executives who were meant to be minding the bar. On Friday, part two: the clubs who fixed the result itself.

Let me pour four.

The most widespread one: FIFA, 2015

On the morning of May 27, 2015, Swiss police walked into the Baur au Lac, a five-star hotel in Zurich where FIFA’s top brass were staying for their annual meeting, and arrested seven officials.

The charges came from Brooklyn. US prosecutors had indicted 14 people over bribes and kickbacks. The US Attorney General called it corruption that was “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted.”

Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president for 17 years, wasn’t charged. Two days later he won a fifth term (yes, FIFA presidents could serve unlimited terms back then. Yes, it does sound corrupt). By December, FIFA’s own ethics judge had banned him from soccer for eight years over a payment to UEFA president Michel Platini, who got the same ban.

"Wait, wasn’t there something about Qatar?"

There was. In 2010, FIFA voted to give the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 one to Qatar. Qatar beat the USA, among others, to get it. In 2020, a US indictment alleged that FIFA voters were bribed to back both bids, including $5 million to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner to vote for Russia.

Both countries have always denied it, and FIFA cleared them in its own investigation back in 2014. Nobody has been convicted over those votes. Both tournaments went ahead.

The fastest collapse: the Super League, 2021

In April 2021, 12 of Europe’s biggest clubs announced their own breakaway competition: the Super League. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Juventus, both Milan clubs and six from England: Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. JPMorgan was putting up the money.

The pitch was simple. The founding clubs got a permanent seat at the table every year, no matter how badly they played. If that sounds like the NFL, it basically is. In European soccer, any team can be relegated.

Fans protested outside stadiums almost immediately, the British government threatened to step in, and within about 48 hours the English six had pulled out. The whole thing collapsed before a ball was kicked.

The most serious one: Luis Rubiales, 2023

Every bartender knows the guy. He’s had a few, he thinks the night is all about him, and he doesn’t take no for an answer. In most bars, he gets walked to the door. This time, he was the one running the place.

August 20, 2023. Spain have just beaten England to win the Women’s World Cup in Sydney. During the medal ceremony, Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain’s soccer federation, held forward Jenni Hermoso’s head and kissed her on the lips.

He said it was consensual. She said it wasn’t. Spain’s players refused to play for the national team until the federation made changes.

FIFA suspended him, he resigned about three weeks later, and FIFA banned him from soccer for three years. In February 2025, a Spanish court convicted him of sexual assault and fined him €10,800.

The shortest one: Sam Allardyce, 2016

‘Big Sam’ spent his whole career waiting for the England job. He got it in July 2016. Then he took a meeting.

The “businessmen” he met twice, once at a London hotel and once at a Manchester gastropub, said they represented a Far East investment firm. They were actually undercover reporters from the Daily Telegraph, and they were filming the whole thing. Watch it here.

Over a pint, the England manager:

• negotiated a £400,000 deal to give speeches for them.

• appeared to explain how to get around FIFA’s ban on outside investors owning a share of players. When asked about the rules, he said it was “not a problem”.

• took shots at his predecessor, Roy Hodgson, and the FA, his own employers.

The next morning, the Telegraph’s front page read “England manager for sale.” By that evening, he was gone. The job lasted 67 days.

His record: one game, one win, 1-0 against Slovakia. The shortest-serving England manager ever, and technically the most successful.

Allardyce has always said he was misrepresented, and in 2018 the UK press regulator ordered the Telegraph to correct part of what it had claimed he said.

🗣️ SOUND LIKE A REGULAR

"cup-tied"

/ˈkʌp taɪd/ 🔊

adjective · soccer

1. Definition: A player who cannot play in a cup competition for his new club because he already appeared in that same competition for his old one this season. He is locked out until next year.

2. Origin: The rule stops rich clubs buying their way through a knockout run mid-competition. "Tied" is the old legal sense of bound to something, the same root as being tied to a contract.

USED IN A SENTENCE

"Chelsea signed him on transfer deadline day, but he had already played for his old club in the first round of the Carabao Cup, so he is cup-tied and stuck in the stands for this competition until next season."

🗞️ THE WEEKLY TAP-IN…

Premier League roundup

City’s first game as the villains

The Premier League came back after three weeks off, and every eye was on one game.

Anfield booed City every time they touched the ball and called them cheats from the first whistle. For an hour, it worked. Liverpool pressed them into the ground, and City didn’t manage a shot until the 35th minute.

Then Ryan Gravenberch picked up a second yellow card just after the hour, and City scored three in the next 16 minutes. Erling Haaland got the first. Substitute Jérémy Doku bent the second into the top corner (more on him below). Rayan Cherki rolled in the third.

Liverpool 0-3 Man City. It’s City’s first back-to-back league wins at Anfield since 1953. They’ve won six from six and sit three points clear at the top, and Liverpool are down in ninth.

The rest of the weekend

• Arsenal 2-1 Leeds: Leeds, unbeaten until Saturday, went ahead through James Justin ten minutes after halftime. Then Riccardo Calafiori equalized and substitute Bruno Guimarães scored his first goal at the Emirates eight minutes later. The champions stay second, three points behind City.

• Man United 1-1 Tottenham: Bryan Mbeumo put United ahead with 17 minutes left. Five minutes later, Rodrigo Bentancur headbutted Luke Shaw and was sent off. Ten-man Spurs still equalized in stoppage time through a Dominic Solanke header. Spurs still haven’t won a league game this season, but this one felt like a win.

• Chelsea 5-1 Bournemouth:Two goals inside the first three minutes for Chelsea, and the afternoon was over. Bournemouth are still waiting for their first win.

The best of the rest: Brighton won 2-0 at Sunderland and climb to third. Palace beat Forest 3-1, Ipswich beat Fulham 2-1 to leave Fulham bottom, and Villa vs Brentford and Hull vs Everton both finished 2-2.

Coventry host Newcastle tonight at 3pm ET on USA Network.

The Champions League is back

No time to rest. Europe’s biggest club competition returns tomorrow for round two. Quick refresher: 36 teams, one big league table, eight games each, and the top eight go straight to the knockouts. Here’s my full explainer if you need it. Every game streams on Paramount+.

What’s worth your time:

• Atlético Madrid v Manchester United (Tuesday, 3pm ET): United are back in the Champions League for the first time in three years and opened with a 4-0 win over Sabah. Madrid away is a different test entirely. Atlético lost their opener at Anfield, so they’ll be hungry.

• Galatasaray v Barcelona (Tuesday, 3pm ET): Istanbul is one of the loudest places in soccer, and Galatasaray need it. They lost 3-1 at Sporting in round one and are up against Lamine Yamal and co.

• Manchester City v PSG (Wednesday, 3pm ET): The club everyone is talking about against the champions of Europe. You won’t want to miss this one.

Also on: Arsenal host Lille, Roma host Real Madrid and Liverpool visit Austria’s LASK.

🍻 HAVE A BEER WITH…

Jérémy Doku

Club and country: Manchester City and Belgium

This week: Came off the bench in the 56th minute at Anfield, with the game at 0-0, and curled City’s second goal into the top corner, three minutes after Haaland’s opener.

Fact: Liverpool reportedly tried to sign him as a teenager, and he turned them down to stay at Anderlecht. He picked a good place to remind them. At Euro 2024, he completed more dribbles than anyone else in the tournament.

Toast: A non-alcoholic Stella Artois. He left Belgium’s World Cup camp this summer to be there for the birth of his son, Praise. Sleep is the real luxury now.

Follow him here: @jeremydoku

🔥 HOUSE SPECIALS

⚽ Goal of the week: Jérémy Doku’s curler into the top corner at Anfield.

🎉 Fanzone: City’s away end at Anfield broke out inflatable yellow bananas minutes after Gravenberch’s red card, a throwback to the club’s late-’80s craze.

📅 On this day: October 12, 2022. Mohamed Salah came off the bench and scored the fastest hat trick in Champions League history, three goals in six minutes and 12 seconds, as Liverpool won 7-1 at Rangers.

🐣 Underdog corner: Ipswich, promoted in May, beat Fulham 2-1 and sit tenth. Fulham are bottom.

👕 Wardrobe watch: A brand called Icarus Football has reimagined Tottenham’s 1991-94 away shirt for the Philadelphia Eagles. I’m not a Spurs or Eagles fan but I might order one for myself.

📊 Most clicked from Friday: Argentina flying a GIANT Messi shirt over his hometown, Rosario.

That’s all, folks. Sláinte.