This match-fixing scandal might have an upside for Ireland
A scandal involving match-fixing in some 200 European football games, three of which were in the Champions League and 12 were in the Uefa Europa League, is being investigated by German prosecutors. Facts about the investigation are dripping out slowly, but going on what's been made public so far, the damage to the image of the game is bound to be enormous.
Which brings us to the other European football scandal of the week: the elimination of Ireland from the World Cup through a dramatic conjunction of official incompetence and player cheating. FIFA, the game's governing body, today ruled out a replay of the match, but the offending player, Thierry Henry, now says a replay would be "the fairest solution" and his compatriot, Arsene Wenger, the respected coach of FC Arsenal, is also urging that the game be replayed.
One would think that in the face of such pressure and in light of the looming match-fixing scandal, FIFA would try to avoid bringing the game further into disrepute by denying the wishes to those who want to see a fair outcome to Wednesday night's game. Or are football's gnomes in Zürich irredeemably bureaucratic and corrupt? Just like the game they are presiding over.
