A Game of Two Halves - Denglischer Fussball

The silent Subotic affair.

When Franck Ribéry was involved in an underage sex scandal several years ago, the press kicked up a tremendous storm. The French winger’s career briefly suffered as a result, and he is arguably only now returning to his best form.

When John Terry was discovered to have had an affair with Wayne Bridge’s former partner, it cost him – if only temporarily – the England captaincy. It also cost him a host of supporters, and, coupled with other off field scandals, rendered him Public Enemy Number One in large sections of the British sporting press. 

When Wayne Rooney got into trouble over a lot of cigarettes and a call girl, he was branded as immoral, and very nearly saw his career and his marriage dissolve in front of his very eyes.

All these various condemnations of high profile professionals were justified. Whatever your views on the morals of each individual case, all three showed flagrant disregard for their duties as sporting role models.

So why is Neven Subotic barely forcing his way into the tabloid headlines?

After reports in “Der Westen” proclaimed that the Dortmund defender was at the centre of a sexual assault allegation, Bild were on it hours. Certain local sports pages online followed suit, and the odd blog here and there picked the story up. But in general, its development has been barely visible in both the professional press and the blogosphere.

I should explain at this point, that Subotic’s involvement in the investigation is relatively ambiguous. According to the initial reports, the BVB player had played host to what Germany’s favourite tabloid happily labelled a “sex party”, and the following days saw a young woman accuse another invitee of sexual assault. Subotic was, for the moment, unaccused, and the club’s official statement was that he had informed them of everything and was acting as a witness.

So yes, it isn’t perhaps on the Ribéry-Govou level of indiscretion. But one might have expected it at least to be ample discussion fodder, even for the more pompous publications – and certainly for Twitter.

And yet it has gone largely unspoken of. That Subotic hosts sex parties is not a scandal, of course. He is, providing he has consent of all involved parties, as welcome to do whatever he likes with bits of his and other people’s anatomies, without intrusion from the public sphere. But when it comes to allegations of sexual assault, the situation should change entirely. If he is to any extent guilty, the fact that the story has only been reported in the brashest of media outlets will not be a victory for sports journalism. Nor will it be a victory for the unfortunate victim.

I do not seek to purport conspiracy theories of gentleman’s agreements and sinister press gags, because I don’t believe that that is what is happening. But it is odd, is it not, that in this world of immediate judgement and condemnation, such an apparently interesting story should not even trend on Twitter?

Why the Redknapp case matters.

‘Appy, ‘appy ‘Arry. ‘E ain’t ‘alf un’appy at the moment. Not since he’s been up in court at any rate. Walk into a newsagent today and you will be greeted by an array of images all depicting the same Redknapp frown. The brows are furrowed, the jowels are low and that remarkably loose looking mouth appears as just another wrinkle, rather than the smiling declaration of universal joy that it normally is.

It is hardly surprising, of course. Redknapp and former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric stand accused of cheating the tax payer to a level which far transcends a few porn films and a duck house.

A £200,000 under the table payment, an illicit account in Monaco, and two major, multi million pound businesses. It sounds like a good plot for a Bond film, until you remember that Peter Crouch and Redknapp’s old bulldog Rosie are also at the heart of it. Poor old Crouchie. He may have been a virgin if he hadn’t been a footballer, but at least he’d have been a virgin who hadn’t quite innocently got himself involved in a great big tax evasion scandal. Not that he’ll mind that much.

Nor should he, for he, like Redknapp’s current charges, are not to blame in the slightest. Bungs are the business of football’s agents and managers. Its ugly side so intent on exploiting its beautiful side. It is one of the major arguments for more severe financial regulation in the world game. How is it that an entity such as professional football can generate so much revenue and so consummately fail to give society anything back in return. The odd community project at a North London club is hardly recompense for the millions of pounds that pass through agents’ bank accounts every day.

There are those, of course, in their thousands, who claim that financial regulation would only make things worse. With heavy restrictions on wage packets and transfer fees, surely the importance of off record dealings would only become ever greater? Surely the agents would then gain even more power?

Well no, no they wouldn’t. Strong regulations mean clearer guidelines and more easily defined punishment. Rather than simply seeing the bung taking manager eventually taken to court, football would be able to dock his team points and deter his contemporaries from doing the same. And yes, that would mean that football’s governing bodies would become ever more Stalinist, but that’s not actually a problem when what you’re doing is not throwing people in gulags, but kicking them out of European competition.

Of course the governmental powers can’t be trusted either. Blatter’s FIFA is a testimony to why more top down influence over football’s finances will not necessarily create a Utopia of economic equality. But, as with all issues in football, it is about taking one step at a time. There is no Utopian, Marxist way of revolutionising football’s economically malicious nature, but there are certain rules and regulations that can be brought in to favour those who obey the rules, and punish those who don’t. That is how democracy and capitalism work. So working men of all fanbases unite. Forget for a moment your false consciousness of tribalism, and demand, in softly spoken and reasonable voices, a little more liberal guilt on the part of the game’s rulers. It will be far more important in the long run than goalline technology, Mario Balotelli’s stamping habits, and whether or not Wenger has lost the plot. Believe me.