Is it ok for big sports teams to be let off with cheating?

Is it ok for big teams to cheat?

  • Yes

    Votes: 1 4.5%
  • No

    Votes: 21 95.5%

  • Total voters
    22
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...eague-is-doping-acceptable-in-scottish-soccer

This article is pretty interesting.

Is it ok for a big team to possibly cheat and get let off with it because they are too big to lose. I.e if the Yankee's or the Redsox etc somehow cheated to gain an advantage over other teams, would it be ok to let it slide becuase it would be a disaster if the company disappeared.
That's like saying if Usain Bolt and some other "smaller name" athlete used the same performance enhancing drug then Bolt should be treated differently to how the other athlete should be treated.

That is basically what the article is saying. Paul Chaplin(BlueBird films) was involved in creating something called an employee benefit trust, something which can be used to avoid paying tax, all of which is perfectly legal. However one of the Scottish soccer teams(Rangers F.C) misused these trusts and may have cheated everyone in Britian out of a possible £75 million in tax

Rangers are one of the two big teams in Scotland and it is seen by many, that losing the big rivalry between Rangers and Celtic is to much to to lose by Rangers possibly going into liquidation and forming a new company. So the top league in Scotland could potentially set new rules, so that Rangers could liquidate, and wriggle out of £134 million of debt, 75 million of which is owed to the tax man.

All of which is explained in the article

So, say a big team in America, or anywhere else for that matter, cheated taxes or cheated financially to gain an unfair advantage. Would it be ok to just let any possible repercussions slide because the team are too big and too important to lose?
 
Wether you're big or small, the rules apply to everyone. You cheat, you're out !
Back in the day's in 1993, the french soccert team Olympique de Marseille had won the french league 5 times in a row (89, 90, 91, 92 & 93), they just had won the Champion's League when a corruption scandal was revealed : For the game just before the Champion's League final, the chairman of Olympique de Marseille had paid some of the gus fror the othert team not to be too rough on the pitch because he feared some of the players could be hurt.
The scandal caused the cancelation of the '93 championship (no one was given the title) and the relegation of Olympique de Marseille to the lower division.
 

L3ggy

Special Operations FOX-HOUND
Do I really need to say it?
 

Ace Bandage

The one and only.
[Mackey voice] Uhhh.. cheating is bad, mmmkay. [/Mackey voice]
 

alexpnz

Lord Dipstick
If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'!
 

PlasmaTwa2

The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
One could argue that the Yankees and Sox are allowed to have an advantage over other teams due to MLB's lack of a salary cap, but then again the Cubs do the same thing and haven't won shit.
 
When I looked at the title, I thought you meant match fixing or something like that.

All cheats are bad, but this is a tax wrangle on a large scale. A corporate cheat, from the business side rather than a team cheat.

On a smaller scale, F1 drivers avoid paying taxes by living in tax havens like Monaco or Switzerland. Are they cheats?

The Scottish league won't want Rangers to fold, because there will be no real challengers to Celtic. Right now the team in 3rd are 26 points behind.
 
The Scottish league won't want Rangers to fold, because there will be no real challengers to Celtic. Right now the team in 3rd are 26 points behind.
If the Rangers fold, the player may go to other teams and make them better. These teams will gain soem motivation 'cause they'll be competing for #2 instead of #3.
Celtic won't have any challenger for the Championship but teams such as Dundee or Middlothian may get stronger.
 
If the Rangers fold, the player may go to other teams and make them better. These teams will gain soem motivation 'cause they'll be competing for #2 instead of #3.
Celtic won't have any challenger for the Championship but teams such as Dundee or Middlothian may get stronger.

That is possible, but I think the best Rangers players would be likely to drift out of the Scottish league and go to the English prem or other Euro clubs.
 
Of course it is. Big teams bring in the most revenue and as such make the most money for TV networks and advertisers. Why would anyone want to put a stop to that?
 

Supafly

Retired Mod
Bronze Member
Wether you're big or small, the rules apply to everyone. You cheat, you're out !
Back in the day's in 1993, the french soccert team Olympique de Marseille had won the french league 5 times in a row (89, 90, 91, 92 & 93), they just had won the Champion's League when a corruption scandal was revealed : For the game just before the Champion's League final, the chairman of Olympique de Marseille had paid some of the gus fror the othert team not to be too rough on the pitch because he feared some of the players could be hurt.
The scandal caused the cancelation of the '93 championship (no one was given the title) and the relegation of Olympique de Marseille to the lower division.

Absolutely second that! I remember that scandal, too, and if there would be some fishy backroom-deals to let them slide out, how could you expect other teams to stay on the fair side?
 
I know this is going off an a little tangent, but if most of the worlds major football leagues actually had extensive revenue sharing and a salary cap and floor things like this wouldn't have to be worried about because there would be a lot more than one or two big teams, and there wouldn't be a situation where a couple of teams are pretty much almost guaranteed of winning...every...single...year in perpetually because they can just pay more than everybody else. Not to mention it would be a major benefit for the integrity and the competitiveness of the sport in general.
 

Ace Bandage

The one and only.
One could argue that the Yankees and Sox are allowed to have an advantage over other teams due to MLB's lack of a salary cap, but then again the Cubs do the same thing and haven't won shit.
I hate your face.
 
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