Well this isn’t good.
A convicted match-fixer tells German magazine Der Spiegel that up to seven Cameroon players were involved in fixing their group matches at the World Cup this year.
The Indomitable Lions looked poor in defeats by Mexico, Brazil and Croatia.
In one match, Alex Song was sent off and detained match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal of Singapore correctly told authorities there would be a sending-off and 4-0 score line.
From the BBC:A statement from Cameroon’s FA read: “Recent allegations of fraud around Cameroon’s 2014 Fifa World Cup three preliminary games, especially Cameroon versus Croatia, as well of the ‘existence of seven bad apples [in our national team]’ do not reflect the values and principles promoted by our administration, in line with Fifa’s code of conduct and the ethics of our nation.
“We are strongly committed to employ all means necessary to resolve this disruptive matter in the shortest delays.”
The investigation will form part of a wider inquiry ordered by the country’s president, Paul Biya, into the team’s poor performance at the World Cup.
Fifa did not comment on whether it was looking into the issue as football’s world governing body did not want to “compromise any possible investigations”.
Cameroon players initially refused to board their plane to World Cup in protest of unpaid bonuses, and these allegations certainly contend that money ruled their roost once they crossed the Atlantic.
The Indomitable Lions lost 1-0 to Mexico, 4-1 to Brazil and 4-0 to Croatia.
This is the part in the post where we’re supposed to sum up what this means in a wise and clever way to transmit the news in a digestible fashion. Here’s what I’m giving you: if this is true, it stinks.