Are The Brazil Holland Match-Fixing Rumours True?

There are conspiracy theories doing the rounds, about the World Cup. A popular one is that the Brazil Holland quarter-final was ‘fixed’. We at Cricinfosite dismiss this theory for what it is — rubbish. We believe that such rumours are the work of disappointed fans of teams that have performed below expectation levels.

I have a question for those who have been following football for some time. Have you ever known any Brazil team to play a rough physical game? Brazil teams of the past never needed to because they had great faith in their ball skills. Those of you watched the Brazil Vs Holland match must have surely seen Robinho snarling at some Dutch players, early in the match.

If the reason for your cynicism is because you think Felipe Melo did not deserve a red card, please take a look at the video, and answer this: why was Melo kicking Robben in his hamstring? Let me fill you in on that answer, if you are not sure. It is common knowledge that Robben suffered a hamstring injury before the world cup, and that he only came into the tournament in the round of 16 match against Slovakia.

Too bad if you are such a loyal Brazil fan that you cannot accept the truth that the team is not as good as we have all been made to believe. If Brazil had kept their cool on the day, they might have still made a match of it. But they didn’t. Period.

But having brought up the subject of match-fixing, let’s take a look at some of the refereeing blunders at this tournament, and see if they might be linked to some kind of match-fixing:

England Vs Germany: The referee denied Lampard a goal after the ball had crossed the line. The referee was unsighted, perhaps, but what the heck was the linesman doing? Match-fixing? Nah! Had the referee conceded the goal, Engand would have lost 4-2, instead of 4-1.

USA Vs Slovenia: Maurice Edu’u scored a goal from ‘onside’ as was clearly seen in TV replays, but his goal was disallowed. The referee’s decision was  nullified by USA’s topping the group, but the team could have easily come second, in the group, and had to face Germany. Fishy.

Serbia Vs Germany: Klose was award a second yellow in what was clearly an unduly harsh decision by the referee. Germany lost to an inferior team. Fishy.

Brazil Vs Nigeria: Kaka was awarded an undeserved red card, after an Oscar deserving histrionic performance by Kaita. Fishy.

As you can see, there were several performances by referees that stank. Having said that I still maintain that no player representing his country, nor a referee in FIFA’s elite panel would risk his reputation by indulging in match-fixing, especially in the glare of media scrutiny that the world’s greatest sporting event is subjected to.

Tags: Brazil, England, EPL, Germany, Holland, referee, Robben, Video

Category: FIFA World Cup, Football