The national team is clearly their favourite, to the extent that it's a real handicap for the league.
Aye this investigation is a complete non-runner with all the time to cover their tracks. If the FAI had been quicker out of the traps the odd folks involved with Athlone would have been like lambs to the slotter!!
Unsurprisingly the English media is taking an interest. First time I've seen the suggestion that the initial investment was up on €500k though. To be perfectly honest I'd be surprised if they had to go that high. I still think they'll find it hard to nail anyone officially connected to Athlone.
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/...-football.html
Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.
Definitely not 500k. Think they are confusing that with the investment years ago from Declan Molloy to pay off stadium debt.
This new crowd gave 70k.
UCD and the first time we played Cobh. Thats the 2 games being investigated on top of the Longford one.
These are not the only games to have irregular betting. Ive seen info on money being placed in Asian markets on other games, albeit smaller amounts and not enough to trigger anything massively suspicious. These bets did match up with what happened in the games. Hopefully the FAI are aware of this and will investigate appropriately. Its not just been league games either. Big money was placed on over 4.5 goals in the pre season game vs bohs.
Athlone Town AFC 1887-2017
UC Dublin.
I think with the "overwhelming evidence" provided by UEFA, the FAI won't get away with finding nothing. So my guess would be that the full blame will be put on a few individual players who, of course, did that completely on their own without anyone else at the club being involved.
The issue is, what if the backers just leave now that they're rumbled?
Can Athlone continue on without them?
I don't disagree.
Was more replying to disgruntled on the FAI not wanting to find anything to keep Athlone in the league and not go down to a 7-team First Division.
Have a look at the ongoings at Atletico CP. The same guys are in charge there. The club want them gone but can't get rid of them. I just hope thats not the case here. I hope both investor, and board, f**k off and let the real football people of Athlone get on with saving the club.
If the investor does leave but the current board stay, the club will remain the same, and will probably leave senior football quite soon. Getting less than 100 at games now and as long as the board remain, people will continue to stay away.
Athlone Town AFC 1887-2017
Unless they have firm proof that these players were involved then they can't get banned with the players having involved the PFAI. With hundreds of thousands of €€ involved these people won't be doing it in a sloppy way. I can't imagine they just transferred money to Igor and co's bank accounts.
Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.
see Athlone Town released a press release last nightfor the players not to go to the press as Labuts is on the front page of the Sunday World today! of course this was after he did the interview with the Sunday World!
Gary Cronin is he the right man to manage Longford Town?
It's not all up to the FAI, if Uefa give Athlone the red card.
Afaia, if Uefa confirm that the betting patterns clearly indicate the fix was on in the game, that punter/s must have had prior knowledge of a result, that there was substantial financial gain running on the wings of that result, then the club is guilty. The FAI would have to impose the standard penalties onto the club.
Though I'm not sure of what has to happen before Uefa give out the red card, but it appears since they started flexing their zero tolerance muscles early this year, that clubs have been hit with heavy fines based on the above mentioned evidence.
Athlone will inevitably end up being slapped with a huge fine. They'll pull out of the league. We'll get our first asterisk in a few years and end the season with 7 First Division clubs.
The fans will start fresh next season.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
The FAI's "investigation" will likely conclude with nothing to see here etc. Not a chance they are going to fine & sink Athlone when they are implicated due to the awarding of Athlone's license without due diligence on Athlone's source of funding, no amount of anti-match fixing powerpoint presentations will cover their arses on that.
They may well refer to UEFA to do the actual investigating but then remember which CEO has just been elected to a UEFA Executive Committee and you wouldn't be entirely convinced UEFA will take the required action
The Leinster Senior League needs a strong Bohemians
From reading this article it would appear there's been no disciplinary action resulting from any of the games UEFA previously investigated involving any of the people under suspicion at Athlone.
http://extra.ie/sport/soccernews/special-report
Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.
The way Uefa approaches a case of match fixing against clubs has changed. It is enough for Uefa to prove that a betting scam has taken place in order to prove a case against a club. The precedent is a case taken against Skenderbeu which has passed muster with CAS.
Athlone are already guilty by those standards, proving a case against individuals is a different proposition but it's not required in order to fine the club.
Last edited by geysir; 09/05/2017 at 10:07 PM.
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