Corruption allegations hit Bayern Munich, the team hits back with legal action
It seems the German football league champions, Bayern Munich, have been accused of corruption by a few UEFA officials. The allegations have been met with very strong denial from the German football team and they have even started
a lawsuit against the officials in question. It seems these days that no sport is safe from the illegal world of corruption and match fixing scandals. Cricket is already drowning in a sea of corruption and now it looks like it is football’s turn. With UEFA
launching an investigation, this matter will hopefully be cleared up soon. Fans of sports in general have seen the demise of one sport, cricket, they do not need to see the death of another one.
The allegations relate to two UEFA officials named Peter Limacher and Robin Boksic who talked to Stern magazine about corruption charges against the German club. The magazine states that the two officials had evidence that Bayern
Munich had been bribed by nefarious characters to lose their UEFA Cup semi-final match to Zenit St Petersburg in May 2008. These allegations were said to have come from Boksic by the magazine and Limacher is now denying that he said anything to Stern. He claims
that everything that the magazine is quoting is wrong and he is a victim of slander. These are very serious allegations because if they are proven to be true they will destroy the image of the most famous football club in Germany and also tarnish the whole
sport of football. This is not the first time that a football team or a match or even an entire league has been accused of match fixing; there was the very famous case recently of the Serie A being accused of massive match fixing and corruption. But this is
the first time allegations of this sort have been levelled onto Bayern Munich and it is a worrying sign.
Bayern Munich is the most famous football club in Germany. It was formed in 1900 by 11 football players and slowly started to make a name for itself. The club considers itself a German national football club and it has over 147,000
members who support the team. These allegations that surfaced recently were a huge deal for the club. Firstly it was being accused of something that could shame it in front of the German nation and secondly they would lose the respect of their thousands of
fans. One can rightly see why the club would be so upset if these allegations were simply untrue and were being said by the paper and a couple of UEFA officials just to make some money from the controversy. The club feels it has a large reputation to uphold
and if these allegations are false then it has to defend itself and its honour. It is doing just that by suing the UEFA officials in the middle of this scandal. Peter Limacher and Robin Boksic are the two being sued by the club, Limacher is the head of UEFA’s
disciplinary service and so it is very interesting that he would be making these sorts of statements. The magazine in question Stern, says that the two officials had also stated that they had strong evidence of wrongdoings by the club but so far no evidence
has been presented to UEFA or to Bayern Munich.
This case is very strange and has some serious holes in it. If Limacher did make the allegations against the club, why is he not standing by them now? Why did Stern print a story that could potentially ruin the biggest football
club in Germany if it did not have any proof? And why would the most famous football club in the country need to take money to lose a match, were they in financial trouble in 2008? These things make this case seem very twisted and it is now up to UEFA and
the investigators to unearth the truth of the matter. Hopefully it will all be a non issue and the club can go back to enjoying its impeccable reputation.
With match fixing and corruption all around the sports world at the moment, it was only a matter of time before big football clubs got entangled in it as well. It will be up to the governing bodies of football to make sure match
fixing does not snare the game in its long tentacles. Hopefully football can be free of corruption and illegal aspects for many years to come.
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