By David Clarke
Arsenal are in turmoil following captain Granit Xhaka’s confrontation with fans at the Emirates Stadium following a below-par performance against another London side in Crystal Palace.
The Gunners were tipped by most football experts to collect three points at home to The Eagles, but they made heavy weather of what should have been a comfortable game. Papastathopoulos broke the deadlock with a goal inside seven minutes before David Luiz added a second just 106 seconds later. Home fans expected the floodgates to open with their side building on that cushion, but things rarely go to plan in North London.
Arsenal left shocked by fightback
Milivojevic made things uncomfortable, silencing the majority of those inside the stadium when scoring a penalty on 32 minutes and then everyone connected to Arsenal were left shocked and stunned when Ayew drew the sides level within seven minutes of the second half getting underway. What started as a dream scenario and enjoyable day out in the biting Autumn cold quickly turned into a nightmare that didn’t look out of place on the approach to Halloween.
As supporters rained down fury onto the field, they picked out captain Granit Xhaka as a man deserving of extra attention. They blamed their captain in more ways than one and made it known. Premier League football stars are used to being on the receiving end of abuse from the stands from time to time but they are not robots and sometimes react. It seemed to make it worse for Granit Xhaka that the comments were coming from followers of his own team.
Granit Xhaka didn’t react well
How did he react? Well, not very well is the answer. The 27-year-old Swiss born midfielder showed a lack of professionalism when responding to the taunts of those sat at pitch side and, needless to say, that didn’t go down well with anyone, let alone the media.
Xhaka has always been a contentious choice as club captain and it remains to be seen if he’ll survive this latest knock. He didn’t win any new friends by angrily waving his hands in the direction of Arsenal supporters before cupping his ears and listening to the boos and jeers that were coming his way. The player then removed his shirt and marched down the tunnel to the safety of the dressing rooms where he had the time to settle down.
Arsenal confirmed earlier this week they have provided counselling to Granit Xhaka in the wake of the weekend’s agony with manager Unai Emery telling members of the sporting press he is upset, devastated and very sad about what went on.
Could Xhaka lose his captaincy?
Gossip columns suggest the manager is about to replace his captain and that has paved the way for a list of names better suited to the position, according to fans, ex-players and journalists. One man who came out of those ugly scenes with a bit of credit was Hector Bellerin and that helped shove his name up the pecking order. Bellerin tweeted that we are all humans, we all have emotions, and sometimes it’s not easy dealing with them. That frank and honest assessment was well received by Arsenal fans as well as supporters of other clubs.
Another silent leader in the dressing room is Aubameyang – known for his bond with younger players, which the current gunner’s roster is certainly not lacking of in terms of spots and playing time.
The Granit Xhaka embarrassment was just the latest ordeal that has lead to some suggesting the Arsenal captaincy now carries a curse and not all players would be happy to replace their current leader. William Gallas ended up a bit of a hate figure, Cesc Fabregas seemed desperate to push through a move to Barcelona and Robin Van Persie had his head turned by the Manchester clubs.
Go in over his head
Perhaps the way forward could be to go in over Granit Xhaka’s head and attempt to appoint a coach that understands what Arsenal is about and can help bring some much-needed peace to the dressing room. Such an appointment would also help take the heat off the players and have the media talking about something else.
If former star Arteta could be persuaded to return that would be seen as one of the club’s best signings of the year, although the board would have their work cut out in making that happen. Another option are more known former stars Henry and Vieira which seems less likely according to the main betting sites It seems the best way forward is to release Granit from the pressures of being club captain in what’s sure to be a tough season.
Sorry but today I feel the question should be who can replace liverpool in the Caraboa cup. Fielding an illeligable player followed by trying to dictate a move of the quarter final by saying they will refuse to play if the date is not to their liking. I wonder where the negativity of the media has gone regarding this matter. As to Arsenal captain whoever it may be must be able to cope with the abominally poor refereeing that the pigmob in all their bias meet out on our team.
What makes anybody think that an ex-player with minimal experience is the right person for the job (assuming of course that we need a new manager)? I’ve heard people whining on about what a good job Lampard is doing but ignoring the mess at Old Trafford (and what about Tony Adams or Gary Neville or a whole host of ex-players who’ve failed miserably as managers).
My view is that supporters (if you can call some of these morons who boo the team), should stick to what they are there for, i.e. supporting. Most of them have never as much as managed a market stall let a lone a football club. Most of them have never as much as coached an under 6’s school side. But they all think they know better than highly experienced professionals. The solution isn’t about with whom we replace the current manager or captain; let’s leave that to the professionals. The solution is for supporters to actually support the club instead of behaving like spoiled children who believe the club owes their weak egos a good massage. Or if they are in that much personal anguish, just go, leave the club, don’t come back but just stop whining as if you are owed something. Do us all a favour.
If they are sick, they go and see a doctor because having watched casualty regularly doesn’t qualify them to diagnose illness or perform surgery. Why on earth do they therefore think having been to some football games (and won the league playing FIFA on their xbox) qualifies them to run a football club and tell the manager what tactics he should use? It’s a disgrace.
There isn’t a single or group of boo boys that can replace Xhaka or clean his boots.
Xhaka should walk in front of his team as captain at the next home game with his arms round some of his peers. It will shake the media and the boo crud to the point of shame.
I hope Arsenal have the balls to support their captain and the will of the team more than the unwanted sham support that come to see a circus.
As for professionalism Xhaka showed the most delicate part of a sportsman his emotion. He was right in saying ‘fuck off’. I’m going to join him and say ‘fuck off’ to all who think manipulation of Arsenal begins with scum newsprint, TV pundits and corrupt PGMOL.
I’m with the Arsenal, players, staff, management and true fans. – and as we used to sing in my younger days ‘and fuck all the rest’.
I quite agree. You should never boo your own players. Ever. How does it help?
A word of advice to Xhaka, indeed all the Arsenal squad. When your number comes up to be subbed, just get off the pitch as quickly as possible, please. Don’t use that moment to sulk and trudge off like life is the unfairness thing of all. I’m talking to you, Mr Ozil as well.
That’s what triggered this whole business.
Xhaka wasn’t playing badly. It looked to me as if the substitution was tactical, as we were chasing the game. Either way, that wasn’t the right time to have a strop in front of the crowd. Guaranteed to wind everybody up.
I’m not sure that Xhaka said this in an aggressive way, but in the ‘I don’t believe it’ manner. Reading his lips it looked as though he said ‘Oh, fuck off’ when the jeering started. It’s something I’ve said myself on many occasions.
As to who will most likely replace him as captain either temporarily or permanently, I’d say last nights skipper, Hector Bellerin would be an ideal choice.
As for a new manager, has it come to that yet?
I agree with Menace. If anything, Xhaka should be praised for showing restraint in his response to the ignorant abuse directed at him.
Xhaka should remain as captain.
@Mikey, exactly what I think when I see you and others criticise those who have refereed at the absolute top without having ref’d at any significant level. You see, everybody does it.
Of course menace you’re not worthy to lace Xhaka’s boots but that isn’t the debate, it’s self evident. However, can Xhaka lace the boots of some of his critics like world cup winner Petit, multiple EPL winners like Merson, Neville etc. Xhaka will do well to humble himself and learn from these guys to improve and be the best he can be. Neville, Keane, and Scholes have confessed that they used to be hard on CR7 in training in his early days. CR7 recently said he would have been an imbecile if he didn’t learn from these same guys in those early days. Look at what he’s made of his career. Xhaka is a long way from being world class, he can decide to learn from situations like this or be an imbecile Boo or not.
@Yilch.
Yep! I’ve been the recipient of: ‘and what qualifies you to give an opinion? Where’s your coaching badges?’. When in fact I do have some coaching experience, albeit it at a lesser level.
Yilch I have a feeling you’ve missed one of the key parts of the argument here and simply being abusive as you are in your first sentence does not help your argument. But the issue fundamentally is not whether Xhaka can learn how to behave differently, but rather whether the crowd’s reaction to Xhaka has helped or hindered Arsenal as a team to win games. My feeling in writing about this is that the crowd’s reaction hindered Arsenal’s chances of winning matches and that was what I was trying to put across. Turning this into abuse against another correspondent on Untold rather suggests to me (perhaps not to anyone else but to me) that your argument fundamentally lacks merit.
Please cut the abuse, and let’s have a proper debate – ideally on the subject matter raised in the article.
Yilch in your comment re @Mikey you are arguing against the whole concept of reporting and analysing if it goes beyond x happened y happened.
Your approach would mean that we have no literary criticism, no musical analysis, no arts reporters and so on. Your view seems to be that you can only criticise if you have done it, which is just plain illogical.
I think you have made your points, and you’ve had your say but you are so far out of line of what seems to me to be the normal approach to analysis and reporting (which is what I have spent a lot of my life doing in the mainstream of writing) that really it would be better if you go and comment on a blog that shares your views. You’ve had your say, you vision of reality is totally opposite that of most of us, so I think it is time to stop.
Regarding referees from my perspective anyway, it isn’t about how good or bad a referee is, it is about the way the massively different way the same referee applies the laws of the game to Arsenal as he does to others.
The same applies to VAR.
It’s not about claiming to be better than the referees, it’s about fairness and bias.
I accept refereeing is difficult and personally so I’m not saying I would referee any ‘better’ than our current referees, but I would like to think I would referee in a much more ballanced way than this lot.
Same with VAR. It has been applied to us in a completely different way as it has been to others.
Referees being good bad or indifferent is not really the issue, it’ s being such in equal measure to every team, and anyone other than a blind man with a sack over his head can see that is clearly not the case.
Yilch
31/10/2019 at 3:49 pm
I have umpired in hockey & refereed in football at grassroots level. I have suffered the racism in sport & the work place. I have read the Laws & maintain my knowledge with the updates on the FIFA site. I do not have to be an expert to see a bent referee. Human error is not an excuse when the level across the board is secretive and obviously corrupt. If the officiating is honest then the ‘miked up conversation on the field’ should be broadcast as in Rugby. The VAR officials should be independant and appointed by the league & not by the PGMOL ( a private select group of unaccounted limited liability individuals).
As for CR and the imbeciles you refer to, the same who fouled us in the 50th under the cover of Mike Riley!!! Merson an EPL winner with a loss of intelligence through excesses. You are obviously more useless than an old boot.
Xhaka is our captain and has my support as long as he remains so.
@Tony, my comment was clearly aimed at menace. It was a response to his comment. I know the point you’re trying to put forward in your article, I agree with some of it and disagree with some of it, however, I didn’t see the need to comment on these, we probably will not change each others minds on where we disagree, but I’m sure we’d agree that xhaka should just learn and move on.
On menace, you notice he said supporters who booed weren’t worthy to lace xhaka’s boots. It’s not my style, but I felt I should remind him that the same assessment applied to him.
The greatest example of affiliation to a team is the emotional display as shown by some of our players amongst others. It is not a sign of weakness to get upset or to cry. It shows passion for the game. Gazza and George Best are examples of gifted men who loved their sport but succombed to excesses
In the Rugby World Cup there are big tough guys who weep when they are unsuccessful. They are not losers but part of an unsuccessful team. I have respect for them for being true men. Unlike the media who pretend to be tough yet are soulless.
@masterstroke, I think your response would be better addressed to Mikey, because as you can see, im arguing that many supporters(like you) are indeed qualified to give an opinion on the club’s performance, they just don’t have to post their certificate of qualification before commenting on a blog
@Tony, I think in your haste to vilify me(probably for not towing party lines) you have failed to see that we are in agreement. Mikey suggests that fans are not qualified to criticize the manager since they haven’t managed even a market stall. And I retorted that if that argument was sound, then he wouldn’t be qualified to criticise refs who are refereeing at the highest levels eg EPL refs. In other words, if he can criticise those refs despite his not having reffed at that level, they can criticize the manager despite not having managed even a market stall.
Oh Yilch! I am getting old and forgot to mention, as far as lacing Xhakas boots, I got a medal from the headmistress when I was 8 for needlework 😉 .
Amazing how well qualified I am eh? ;).
David et al,
The current issue with Xhaka’s reaction to abuse and ability to captain the side going forward is part of a larger issue at AFC. Leadership. From the owner to the board, director, manager and the players on the pitch there’s a lack of leadership. The whole enterprise seems rudderless. In the immortal words, “what are they smoking over at the Emirates?”
Some complained during Wenger’s tenure but you knew who was in charge, as was the case with George Graham. It will still take some time to transition from Wenger, Gazidis (hey Milan, still thrilled?),etc. How much influence,authority will Edu be allowed? We don’t know what’s being said or done behind the scenes and shouldn’t pretend we do, after all most of us are not in the media, lol. At the minute I think Emery needs to make a statement on Xhaka: he’s captain or he isn’t. He starting on Saturday or he isn’t. Show some LEADERSHIP. The club have provided him with counseling. How indecisive can they be?
In a fantasy world I see the ownership and board calling out the PGMOL and FA regarding the blatant bias. On TV, in print, on all digital platforms. Buying ad time to show Chamber’s ‘foul’ to disallow a goal. Lead every press conference with that footage. Hammer them as hard as they hammer the Arsenal. Demand accountability. Lead and support the manager, players and supporters as they deserve to be supported. Fight back against those in football and the media who are devaluing their product. Sixth most valuable club in world football and one of the top winning clubs (if you’ll go back further than yesterday). Shite? Second rate? An object of ridicule? I wish the owners and directors were as outraged as I am about this blatant false narrative regarding the club with the THIRD MOST TITLES IN BRITISH FOOTBALL.
AFC always point to their club values and traditions. Is it the Arsenal way to roll over? Capitulate? Run from adversity? I don’t have the answer to this or a thousand other questions regarding the club anymore. I do know things will remain this way until there is a unified ‘Arsenal way’ from the owner to the supporters. And if the ownership/management do not defend the club in a meaningful way the insidious lies do their work and you find yourself regarded as AFC are now.
There are things the average non-ticket holding fan can do. For example, when you see or read “Arsenal fans are saying….” and you don’t agree, write, call email, tweet, whatever and say you don’t agree. They’re not speaking for you. It’s a small thing but perhaps it would make it’s way up the ranks until the owner says to the League, FA and PGMOL “you cannot treat my club this way.”
As I said earlier, “in a fantasy world”.
P.S.
UP THE GUNNERS!
Your first para is exactly the point I made in my reply to Mikey. You don’t have to have won 17Champions league titles before you are qualified to criticize the coach as a supporter. Just like you don’t have to be an expert to know a bent ref, so the supporter doesn’t have to be an expert to have an opinion on the manager’s job.
As for your other paragraphs I have nothing to say to you. Maybe I should refer you to CR7…
@GS72, I concur
Whatever it is, I’m with Xhaka
Arguing about referees impartiality and competence are 2 completely different things.
As far as I can see it is the referees lack of impartiality rather than their lack of competence that underpins the discontent of so many Untold regulars.
Personally I do think they are shit, but even that wouldn’t be so bad if they were shit equally across the board , which to my eyes they clearly are not.
From the Guardian online column “The Fiver” today:
Notoriously mild-mannered Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has taken Atalanta’s controversial equaliser in a 2-2 Serie A draw well. “The referees would be peeling potatoes without us,” he fumed. “We’re fed up. We’re tired of paying for this level of officiating.”
Was that so hard? Stan? Josh?
72, agree with a lot of your points.
Have long complained about the passivity at the upper levels of the club when we have been royally fecked over, I think Gazidis was extremely guilty, especially as he stalked the corridors of power and influence, but seemed to do very little…ok, I know!
Always got the impression Wenger was silenced, and Stan pretty much stayed out of things, along with other senior board members. Hoping Josh will be a little different on this front, have read the hierarchy, including JK were furious at the recent VAR decisions, bought it up at last Monday’s premier league meeting, we since learn that VAR things will be reviewed, with refs being allowed to look at pitchside screens in time
I think there has been a lack of leadership, Wenger aside, but hopefully the know they need help now he has gone, with maybe JK playing a more active role. Edu could be very important. Whether they bring proper leadership is a matter of opinion, or may need judging over time.
Onto Xhaka, tend to believe the articles suggesting Emery is not in the strongest position, and him doing anything to drastic against GX will spark some sort of player revolt in support of their reportedly popular captain, further and maybe fatally weakening Emery.
I feel for our manager. I suspect he has a lot on his plate, a lot more than we have any idea about, as it was ever going to be with wengers successor, I suspect Emery might not last here the summer. They may even have names at the ready behind the scenes, though I personally doubt Jose is one of them
I would just restore GX to the team and captaincy citing the guy is human, has suffered and needs support to thrive. I am not into public apologies in many cases, Xhaka clearly cares, and was at the end of his tether , but I know many others differ.
Also, if lightening rod Xhaka is removed, Emery may fear he is next, in a big way
Great comment from Napoli!
But those refs are just doing their job, looking after Juve no doubt?
Having said that, as an avid watcher of Gomorrah, takes a brave ref to conspicuously do Napoli
Some would say he had his faults, but wonder if DD would have been so passive to injustice, he certainly backed Wenger, and reportedly made personal appearances when the likes of VIeira were put in Fergies FA dock
Mandy,
I agree with everything you say in your post @7:54pm. Even the great man had those above him. Re Emery, I’ve felt that he’s a placeholder ‘manager’. They didn’t even give him the title. What does that say about they’re opinion of him? And since there doesn’t seem to be clear direction from the top, he can’t be held soley accountable for the current state of the club. He hasn’t been here a year and a half, FFS. I mean he’s not Bruce Rioch, you know? And I agree on David Dein. No way he’d be as passive. Say what you like, AFC had fight during his tenure. I mean back room, off the pitch fight. Kind of thing we could use now. Somebody, preferably the head coach, please sort this Xhaka thing out. Make a decision, show some steel or they’ll have to offer me counseling, lol.
72,
As far as I am concerned, looking at it from top down, something does not make sense. The owner has a club with 20 something players.
When you add up the market value of these players, you most probably are not far away from the team being worth half a billion.
I mean, most people take better care of their dog or cat then AFC does of their players.
And as for Xhaka, looking at who the guy is, how he lives, his origin, etc, the guy is a total outlyer. Not your ‘people and wag’ type. A decent, respectful, hardworking person (PERSON, not THING !) Neither was Ramsey who got ripped apart as well in the naughties. Remember Cantona ? Well he is a legend yet he did something worse then Xhaka, did he not, and not only once ? Even the guys who abused, rapded kids are getting milder treatment, are being given excuses and attenuating circumstances.
And comparing Xhaka with other PL players, do you see him cheat to get penalties or other unfair advantages ? No. But, as the stats show, he gets carded much more because that is what Arsenal players are here for : get carded – Untold has published the stats.
So why are not the referees getting the treatment they deserve by the crowd AND by the organisation ? Guess the proportion of morons at the Emirates is far too high, in the stadium and in the offices.
And again, the guys on the pitch have absolutely NO BACKING from the AFC organisation. Yeah they get counseling…what about defending them against all odds which is what should be done. I am disapointed, no I should say disgusted, by the screaming silence coming from the AFC organisation. They have no balls, no steel, no character, no humanity. And they are killing the team this way, the same way they did it at the end of Mr Wenger’s tenure. Beancounters that is what they are.
Then you wonder why a guy leaves AFC, to go to Munich, or to Italy….. because there they are treated well – or rather most of them are. Much better then at Arsenal.
The Arsenal management and the ‘spectators’ are just acting as if they are playing FIFA 2020, and not at all behaving as if they are in reality, dealing with real people. This is what I am seeing. No HUMANITY, no RESPECT, not even LOVE OF THE GAME let alone love of the team. Numbers, dollars, revenues, bottom line, market share, spoils. Nothing else counts. We live in a sad world where your own turn against you and this is considered normal.
So Xhaka has now released a statement , mentions disgusting abuse he, and his family have received.
I personally think his reaction was quite restrained considering.
Hope what’s left of our overworked, Theresa May decimated police force can investigate some of the threats he reports, and the courts actually do something about anyone found guilty.
People are so angry these days, just watching Question Time about the abuse MPs get, and yes, I am angry about these angry people!
The club should conspicuously back a player who is going through that, if he is ready, pick him this weekend, I have a feeling MOST in the stadium will show him support
But agree, Arsenal do need to show some balls, there is the perception they just drift along and let things happen, discretion the greater part of valour and such things, doubt if certain other clubs would be so passive.
I am hoping JK is more proactive, and indeed reactive than his father on some of these matters, but we shall see
By the way, did you know that it’s been the second time in 66 years that a team scored 5 (in RPT) against Pool! at Anfield….
Chris –
“something does not make sense”. That’s my unease about the club now. We’ve both stated we feel that the ownership and management are not protecting their investment at the very least, if not the careers of their players. Broken legs anyone? The Kroenkes should be standing beside the Chapman statue and screaming bloody murder. The media are once again distracting and misleading the public. The Xhaka situation is not the biggest issue in football right now and will be forgotten soon enough. Glad you brought up Eric Cantona. But assault is OK if you play for the preferred clubs. Tony Attwood pointed out that UEFA admits that corruption in football is so widespread they can’t control it! But the media go on about AFC and Xhaka. Even supporters here on UA are distracted and keep on about it. You all complain about the refereeing which is Type III match mixing at the least but don’t act on it. Do something. Perhaps write to the owners, the League and the FA. I have. The obvious and documented bias is the issue at hand for AFC and any type of corruption is hurting the game. Remind the FA that they are the stewards of the game in England. Being complicit in the attack on an English football club should not be tolerated. If anyone thinks I’m naive, I’m not referring to some vague sense of fair play or ‘we don’t behave this way’. I’m referring to the economics of it all.
The EPL and FA are the ones that are naive if they don’t realise that harm to one member is harm to all. But I’m just pissing into the wind as usual. This Xhaka thing will resolve and it will be back to the usual regarding AFC with no pushback by the Club.
I suspect Stan was happy to see his share price go up, and ultimately get full control, nice leverage for other borrowing projects. I suspect Ivan was happy to claim a big bonus and stay out of controversial things, like many political minded CEOs, hell, Ivan was even scared of Going near standing sections.
Wenger had his rants, but was silenced from all angles
A big gravy train for some, Josh claims he will be more hands on, we shall see. Encouraged to see Freddie booked for laying into corrupt/inept officials.
Riley is not the head problem, but a significant problem in the chain, no accountability, no pressure to communicate anything, witness last weekends lowering of the bar for VAR interference. Fergie realised how easy Riley was to get at, suspect many others have realised the same thing.
The only thing that surprised me about the club at the moment is Raul, a man reportedly steeped in the dark arts, why isn’t he applying his influence to get something of a level playing field?
72,
I believe the owners of EPL clubs in the end don’t give a damn. PL is a merry go round, and each round brings in millions. When you see that most of the PL clubs are among the richest in Europe, even the ones fighting for relegation, it just does make sense to forget about the love of the game and the human side. Money is the issue. As long as the gravy train keeps turning rounds and lining thos coffers, why change something ? Why care about an individual ? Spectators don’t give a s..t anyway, they want bood and tears, they want someone on whom they can vomit their frustrations, perversions. Panem and circences. We are back in roman times, back in the coliseum. Nothing has changed except technology that allows for a larger audience.
And I believe the EPL and all the eco-system around have figured that out. Fcuk the individual, the beautiful game – keep the money flowing. The system works. makes each owner richer. Don’t start to monkey with a running system…keep it as it is. The only thing capable of changing that would be a massive boycott of games in stadia, on TV, online. Kind of like when Cantona, a few years ago, was advocating everyone get their money out of their bank account to shake up things – had people followed suit, we’d have seen massive changes in th financial system. Far off from football, is it not ? Yet it is the same logic, the same ‘battlefield’. We are getting screwed and individually are in no position to change anything about it.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/oct/31/sorry-granit-xhaka-arsenal-fans?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR2kgJuG0gavKFUYxWwjDPYZJwJdMRcHL_Nu7qsRQMHhKgW920SP5aiI-NM a good article
On match fixing….something I witnessed. I was on holidays and went to meet my club senior who was into all sorts of illegal things. Since I go back to India once a yr a couple of us decided to visit him and he with his brother were in the middle of a betting session. They were watching south Indian cricket club matches, something like the IPL but state based. Anyway, the main person who was calling the odds over the phone was telling him, what will happen on the next ball, the next ball etc, like next a ball 2 runs, the next ball 1 run and this was a live match. I was told that when the matches are beamed live, it goes to some sort of
re-transmitting hub, where is it held for about 30 seconds and then re-transmitted and its in this 30mins window, the betting takes place. He also said that the cricket associations and transmitting people are in on this as the stakes are very very high. People have issued death threats to Granit???? Here no threats….you step out of line….and you are taken out.
With reference to betting, there are organised betting rings that use the digital delay to their benefit. The delay is on all televised events and the bookies are aware. They just select which bets not to pay out on. There is a loser for every winner and very rarely will it be a bookie.
The online betting is usually between a layer and a placer (usually several at any instance). The bookie takes a cut of the bets. The time differential is a shortcoming for the less aware but is well known.
There are a multitude of scams built around these and many loose fortunes.
Menace
Very true
There was a recent documentary on uk tv about gambling. It was along the lines of the guy being set a task to turn his £100 in to a Million, or something like that.
But the point is his most successful period was when he teamed up with a guy that used this broadcasting delay.
He was on the phone to a guy he had planted at a tennis match. As soon as the point was won he informed his accomplice who quickly placed an in-play bet on that point before the process of the umpire calling the point and it’s subsequent transmission to the betting site.
It took split second but was helped if the umpire was slow at calling the point. They actively sought out the tardy umpires.
Now there was nothing to suggest there was anything more organised than 2 guys working the system, but what it does show is there are weaknesses in the gambling ‘system’ if you know how to exploit them, and if 2 random guys can do that what can organised syndicates do?
What I mean is just how simple would it be for ‘organised crime’ to pay, threaten or blackmail an umpire into taking just a few extra seconds to call a point? I mean theoretically he wouldn’t actually be doing anything wrong let alone ‘cheating’.