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Originally Posted by gstelmack
I don't get this - how many pro athletes here in the US switch teams for relatively small sums? You're telling me that a few hundred thousand or a mil or two wouldn't be enough for some of these guys? You could make way more than that back on the bets.
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Again:
1. It's nothing compared to their club salaries. In fact, their bonuses from the Brasilian FA for progressing in / winning the WC are probably more.
2. In general, penalties for players found to be match fixing have started with a 1-year suspension on the minimum, but many have just been flat lifetime bans. For the Brasilian players, the latter would amount to lost wages in the tens of millions, or more, to say nothing of endorsements.
3. A top international footballer will, in the very best case scenario, play in exactly ONE World Cup in his home country. To win a World Cup being hosted in your home country is, quite simply, the pinnacle of achievement for these players.
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How sophisticated were the soccer gambling rings a few years back?
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Quite. But a) they have tended to target officials, especially from more poor / corrupt countries / league and b) when they have targeted players, it has been those in lesser leagues where the pay isn't as high.
The exception to all that is Italy, of course.