Top 3 match fixing scandals in the history of football

Match fixing has been around for a long time, and despite the sport being considered sacred by those who play and watch it, players and administrators have often been blinded by the love of money, and the chance to take the easy way out, although these incidents are not successfully investigated often.

Below are the 3 most infamous match fixing incidents in the history of the beautiful game.

---

#3 West Germany vs Austria (1982 World Cup)

Despite a formal protest by the Algerian Football Association, no action was taken

Although their was no investigation or punishments handed, this is quite possibly the most outstanding incident of match fixing in a televised game.

In the 1982 edition of the World Cup, the biggest and most prestigious competition in football, the Austrian and West German teams knew that a 1-0 win for the latter would take both through to the knockout stages, and eliminate Algeria from the tournament.

After the Germans scored in the 10th minute, both teams basically stopped playing, there were no more attacks of note in the match, and both qualified. Despite a formal protest by the Algerian Football Association, no action was taken. However, this instance of blatant match fixing is the reason final group matches are now played simultaneously.

---

#2 Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1)

Owner Bernard Tapie was on his way to creating a football dynasty

Marseille in 1993 were the top football team in the world, having just come off a UEFA Champions League triumph and a 4th consecutive Ligue 1 title. Owner Bernard Tapie was on his way to creating a football dynasty with his club.

However, all this changed when it was discovered that in order to win a Ligue 1 game against huge underdogs Valenciennes, Tapie and other officials offered money to the opposition, and asked them to throw the match. This was done primarily so injuries could be avoided before the 1993 UCL final.

It wasn't long before this blatant attempt at match fixing was uncovered, and as punishment Marseille were relegated to the second division, whereas their owner, Bernard Tapie, was given a lifetime ban.

#1 Calciopoli (Serie A)

Luciano Moggi was given a 5 year prison sentence

Italian football in 2006 was rocked to its core. Off the back of Italy's World Cup win, it was found that some of the biggest clubs in the country, including Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio, and AC Milan, had been involved in the practice of affecting the selection of officials for their matches for advantage.

The scandal was not taken lightly, as the major culprits, Juventus, were relegated to the second division, given a points deduction, and stripped of their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles.

The club's director, Luciano Moggi, was banned from football and given a 5 year prison sentence. The other clubs and their directors suffered similar but lesser punishments. Italian football has only now fully recovered from the Calciopoli scandal, with Juventus back on top of Serie A.

These are the most infamous and well documented match fixing scandals in recent history, let me know in the comments if I have missed any!