Spectacular 'Maletas' In Serie A

Napoli players and officials stand accused of threatening AC Parma players in order to persuade them to lose in Sunday's Serie A game between the two teams.
Parma, already relegated, had nothing to motivate them, whereas Napoli needed the points in the race for Champions League places - they would have moved one point behind Lazio and two behind Roma if victory had been achieved.

The Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante will disclose on Wednesday what Gonzalo Higuain said to him during the game. He claims that his revelations are unique and should have no place on the field of play during a competitive football match.
Higuain is alleged to have said to Mirante as they squared up: ""what do you want? You are already in Serie B."

"I was there and I heard what was said after the game," Parma coach Roberto Donadoni told Sport Mediaset. "Having people tell us we should lose just because we're bankrupt and already relegated is disgusting and shameful.
"It wasn't just Higuain, but a few others said the same on the field during the game. When you hear something like that from a director, though, it's a real tragedy.
"This is all incredible. I don't want to name names, as if I have something to say to these people, I'll do it to their faces."

At the end of the season in La Liga, senior figures in Spanish clubs arrange for maletas stashed with cash to be distributed in attempts to ensure appropriate performance by teams that have influence over their clubs' destiny e.g. the opponents of fellow title-chasing or relegation candidates.

This grey market activity is a form of matchfixing - the outcomes of games being potentially affected by money.
The 41 people being investigated over the Real Zaragoza/Levante May 2011 and the pending trial into the shenanigans at the end of last season are examples of this impact of money on integrity.

And the money does not just travel around in maletas - the betting patterns on the end of season matches last season in La Liga between Valladolid and Granada were suggestive of insider trading.

So Football is Fixed then...

NB On Tuesday, Higuain was fined €10,000 for "severely insulting the opposition goalkeeper" and Rafa Benitez, the Napoli manager, is banned from touchline for Cesena game for shouting "shit Italian football" to camera at full-time.