Just as Brazil begins to host the biggest soccer tournament in the world, it seems that the World Cup can not escape the barrage of controversy and scandal. The New York Times has allegedly accused referees of match fixing qualifying and exhibition games leading up to soccer’s greatest tournament. Already one referee has been called out.

In May 2010, Ibrahim Chaibou had been seen depositing approximately $100,000 only hours before he officiated a an exhibition match between South Africa and Guatemala. Throughout the match he made questionable calls, and it turned out that he had been hired by Singapore based company that had been constructed as a facade for a match rigging syndicate. This is all according to an official FIFA investigation.

FIFA has shared several documents with the New York Times, though none have been publicly released. According to the report, FIFA found that the chain of command infiltrated high up in the company. It showed the extent and severity of the problem, with at least five matches determined to have been fixed in South Africa leading up to the 2014 World Cup. All in all, there were up to 15 matches that were targeted, including an exhibition match between the U.S. and Australia.  According to The Times, dozens of South African officials were interviewed, and despite coming to the conclusion that some matches were indeed fixed, no one was officially barred or punished by FIFA.

The lack of action of FIFA’s part puts a bad taste in many peoples mouths. Though it seems that FIFA has been slowly following up on these scandals, nothing seems to have come out of them. People may question the validity of the games in Brazil. Ralf Mutschke, FIFA’s head of security, was quoted as saying “The fixers are trying to look for football matches which are generating a huge betting volume, and obviously, international football tournaments such as the World Cup are generating these kinds of huge volumes, therefore, the World Cup in general has a certain risk.”

It is great to hear that FIFA acknowledges the seriousness of these fixed matches. But that being said, five matches is a lot and the fact that FIFA has not held anyone accountable will give fixers greater confidence to continue their operations. Hopefully the referee’s will be screened with more scrutiny this time around. This is one instance that truly will affect the world. The integrity of the World Cup is now on the line. Let’s hope it lives to see another day.

Photo: Football League