Crime and punishment

Italy’s World Cup football victory this year will be always be linked to the shame of corruption which hit four clubs in the Serie A competition.

The timing was unfortunate but the verdict deserved. The four clubs involved — champions Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio — stretched ‘winning at all costs’ beyond the acceptable limit and paid the penalty.
The punishment is certainly harsh. Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio will start the new season in Serie B, the second division. Juventus will also be docked 30 points which means they will find it very difficult to return to the Serie A in the next two years at least.
This will be a big blow for a very popular club. The financial losses will immense in terms of sponsorship and TV rights.
Worse still, the champion club will always be under suspicion for years to come whenever they regain their place at the top of Serie A.
Many of the stars, which the club had signed, will also move elsewhere to further their careers. There is every chance that the club may go bankrupt in the next two or three years.
It has been argued that the men behind the match-fixing scandal should have been punished and not the club. Juventus have a large fan base not only in Italy but elsewhere in Europe.
But somebody has to set an example. Corruption has no place in sport. Fans pay money to watch a tussle of skills not matches which have been doctored for the lure of cash.
Clubs like Juventus need not even resort to such tactics, given the playing talent available at the club.
Hard decisions are needed to root out the cancer of corruption which is growing in sport. Scandals have rocked athletics, cricket and cycling just to name a few.
Match-fixing was rampant in cricket a few years ago with India, Pakistan and South Africa caught in the scandal.
Many players from the three teams were suspected and three — Hansie Cronje, Mohammed Azharuddin and Salim Malik —  were thrown out for life.
Unfortunately, some players were always under suspicion despite having their names cleared. Since then, any exciting finishes, particularly involving India and Pakistan, always came with murmurings of match-fixing.
One feels sad for the late Cronje who threw away a magnificent career for the sake of money.  His death in a plane crash did not give him a full chance for redemption.
Sport is all about excitement, drama, winning and losing. Simulated excitement for creating artificial results is of no interest to sports fans.
Give the real sports lovers a break and cleanup the corruption.