On the heels of an embarrassing blunder by officials in the Ireland – France qualifying game last month involving one of the sports biggest stars, Thierry Henri, the soccer world had been tossed on its ear again. FIFA is rocked by the pending betting & match-fixing charges being sought by German prosecutors. The charges allege that a syndicate of mob run online gambling outfits have conspired to rig match outcomes and gambling revenues across Europe. The alleged tactics, which include payment to a Yugoslavian cook for spiking players food with chemicals to make players sick, are beginning to become clear. A central figure in the investigation is a Croatian name Ante Sapina, who recently completed a jail sentence for a soccer match-fixing scandal from 2006. To make matters worse, FIFA recently held meetings in Johannesburg which were supposed to make public new officiating protocols and video replay for the 2010 World Cup. But the only thing accomplished at the meeting was the decision to do nothing and make no changes for the World Cup. Apparently in the soccer world, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
