Is Soccer Scripted? (Revealed!)

When fans look at a strange result in soccer, it often leads them to think that the game has been scripted or staged. 

 

But is this the case? Does rigging take place in soccer? And if so, how does it work? Let’s find out! 

 

Is soccer scripted?

No, soccer is not scripted, and the vast majority of matches that take place aren’t rigged. Soccer players are highly competitive and want to win at all costs. They are motivated to score goals, win trophies, and be the best team in their league. Not only are they illegal, but scripted matches would also remove much of the intrigue from the game, and soccer would lose fans as a result. 

 

Are soccer players told what the score needs to be?

When the first whistle is blown to start the match, soccer players have no idea what will happen during the next ninety minutes. 

 

Players take to the field and follow their coach’s tactics, doing everything they can to score more goals than their opponents and win the match. 

 

When an unusual scoreline takes place, and the favorite loses significantly to the underdog, it often causes people to question whether the game has been rigged. 

 

One game that led fans to question – ‘is soccer rigged?’ – occurred in the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. In the semi-finals of the most prestigious competition on the planet, Brazil took to the field as marginal favorites against Germany. 

 

The result? Germany won 7-1 and were absolutely relentless throughout the match. However, some Brazil fans called it a fix and accused the team of throwing the game. 

 

But in reality, Germany were just too good on the day. Although the scoreline shocked the world, there was no evidence to suggest that the game was scripted, rigged, or fixed in any way. 

 

Can soccer players script a match?

Theoretically, soccer players could script a match if they chose to. However, given that there are 22 players on the field, coaches, and officials to consider, it would be a big task to rig a soccer match. 

 

The rigging person would have to organize everything and hope that all players stick to the arrangements. They would then need to be confident that all the players would keep silent and not reveal the plans to anyone. 

 

Essentially, rigging a soccer match is difficult to achieve, but it’s not impossible, as we explain below.

 

Has a match-fixing scandal ever happened in soccer?

One of the biggest match-fixing scandals in recent memory occurred in Italy in the early 2000s. It was dubbed Calciopoli and involved Juventus.  

 

Although the scandal details are complex, Juventus’ managing director Luciano Maggi was revealed to have an exclusive relationship with referee designations. In other words, the Juventus chief was able to influence the match officials who were put in charge of his team’s matches. 

 

Juventus were heavily fined by the Italian FA, stripped of two league titles, and relegated to Serie B as punishment. AC Milan, Inter, and Fiorentina were all involved to a lesser extent and received fines and points deductions.

 

While not directly a match-fixing case, it was a high-profile scandal that shocked European football. Other examples of match-fixing include: 

 

• South Korean footballer Choi-Sung Kuk was found guilty of match-fixing in the K-League. He was banned for life and received a suspended prison term for rigging soccer matches in 2010. 
• In 1994, former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar was accused of accepting a £40,000 bribe to concede goals against Newcastle United. Although cleared, the High Court surmised: “While it had been proven that Grobbelaar had accepted bribes, it had not been shown that he had let in goals to fix results.” 
• Olympique Marseille were found guilty of match-fixing in the early nineties. One of their star players – Bernard Tapie – was found to be involved in match-fixing, which led to a two-year prison sentence. His team was also stripped of a title and banned from the UEFA Champions League.
• Source: Bleacher Report 

So, as you can see, rigging a soccer match is possible, but it’s not common. When incidents happen, the perpetrators are usually caught and brought to justice. 

 

The verdict: Is soccer rigged?

Although many people wonder is soccer scripted, the answer is categorically no, it isn’t. Whatever happens out on the soccer field results from how the players perform on the day. 

 

As we have shown, isolated match-fixing incidents do occur, but the soccer authorities deal with them. 

 

Thankfully, soccer is a game of honor and is competed in good spirits!