The Penalty
Post categories: Drama, Football, Radio Scotland
|17:30 UK time, Monday, 16 May 2011
Tune in to BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday 18 May at 1405 and you'll hear an exciting new radio drama addressing the thorny topic of "corruption in football". The play's called The Penalty and its writer, Colin MacDonald explains why he wanted to write a play on the subject.
FIFA's Head of Security Chris Eaton conceded last week that the problem is significant, adding: "Our information is that we are talking about tens of millions of dollars in profit from each successful fix."
There is match fixing where a player is bribed to alter the result of a game. And there is spot betting, where punters will place money on something happening in a game: a booking, an ordering off, a penalty in a specific period of the match.
FIFA's investigators believe that match fixers are able to manipulate low profile international and club matches because of the huge amount of money washing through Asian gambling markets. It was while researching this that I came across a reference to gambling fixers from these markets targeting matches in countries with low salaries. Bribes, it is reasoned, are more tempting when you have little money.
The words "what if" popped into my head. What if you were a part-time player and had lost your job in the current recession? What if you had a family to feed? What if someone came along dangling temptation?
That's how I began to write The Penalty.
There have been criminal cases in Britain where football players have been punished by the courts for accepting bribes. And rumours abound of thrown matches or goals given away easily. I just wanted to go the heart of the matter and ask one question: what matters most?
Profit for criminals, or the vital belief that what you are watching on the field of play is honest. The answer, to me, is obvious.
The Penalty written by Colin MacDonald will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday 18th May at 1405.
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