21st century Black Sox?

Have professional soccer matches been fixed? That's clearly the conclusion of the NY Times and FIFA. FIFA has been rather guarded in their report; they found that there was a match-rigging syndicate (Football 4 U International) that had been able to entice referees to throw games. However, FIFA did not officially accuse anyone of match fixing or bar anyone from the sport as a result of those disputed matches. Part of the problem is that there are countries whose soccer association is financially shaky, in administrative disarray and politically divided. They are ripe for a bribe.

Europol has also looked into the situation and has said last year that there were 680 suspicious matches played globally from 2008 to 2011, including World Cup qualifying matches and games in some of Europe’s most prestigious leagues and tournaments. That seems like a lot to me.