Anal beads, bribes and doping - the history of cheating in sport
By Jack Kelly (Deputy Sport Editor)
On Monday the 6th of February 2023, the Premier League charged Manchester City with breaching its rules on over 100 occasions. If proven, this would be an unprecedented number of offences committed by a club in the competition. The independent commission, which will consider the charges, could recommend that City be expelled from the competition, suspended or docked points if it finds the club guilty. Those sanctions are listed in the Premier League’s handbook but a commission is clear to apply any punishment it considers appropriate.
The six-times Premier League champions have been accused of failing to give “a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”, failing to “include full details” of player and manager remuneration, failing to comply with rules regarding financial fair play and failing to cooperate in a Premier League investigation that has concluded after more than four years.
So the most successful team in domestic football over the last decade was not only owned and run by a state accused of a litany of human rights abuses but now they are allegedly guilty of an unrivalled number of financial offences that benefitted them greatly during what is undoubtedly the clubs most successful period.
An argument could be made that this is just one of the many examples of unregulated club ownership having a pernicious effect on the football landscape. Fair point, calls for an independent regulator regarding football club ownership are more relevant now more than ever. However, in a wider sense, this case (potentially) falls under the umbrella of being a massive sporting scandal, ultimately based on a form of cheating. But where does it rank among other scandals? And why is cheating so deeply rooted in all sports?
Of course, there have been once-off instances of cheating in sports. Whether you were born or not, everyone is aware of Maradona’s cheating or heroics depending on what side of the Irish sea you reside. Similarly, Irish people of a certain vintage will never be able or want to forget French legend Thierry Henry’s infamous handball against the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup 2010 Qualifier. Incidents like these can be categorised as in-the-moment events more than likely bred out of the ruthless pressure cooker that is professional sport and structured cheating. That does not excuse these incidents but instead is an explanation. It is rule breaking in an instinctive sense rather than rule breaking being a calculated and justifiable means to an end within an organisation. Systematic cheating that is organised and funded is incomparable to gamesmanship and is, perhaps surprisingly, more widespread than expected and has been this way for quite some time. Bribery, doping (financially and through the use of illegal performance enhancers), and virtually any unfair advantage have been deployed across a wide variety of sports.
Beginning with the Chicago White Sox team from the 1919 World Series. If you ever wondered where the phrase “say it ain’t so, Joe” originated, it was a line from a Chicago Daily News Journalist about the baseball superstar “Shoeless” Joe Jackson after allegations that his team, Chicago White Sox, had fixed the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Unfortunately, it was so.
Despite the fact eight players on the team were acquitted by jury in a 1921 public trial, and crime boss and gambler Arnold Rothstein – suspected of offering bribes after he made a significant profit on the team’s loss – was never indicted, the Commissioner of Baseball was unconvinced, and permanently banned the players involved. This dark episode has since become known as the Black Sox scandal. The players maintained their innocence, including Jackson. Despite the fact he had signed a confession, which mysteriously went missing from the courthouse before the trial.
One of the most unscrupulous examples of cheating in the history of sport can be attributed to the Spanish Basketball team from the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. During the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney eight teams of athletes with intellectual impairment or learning difficulties competed in the basketball tournament, adapted for competitors. The Spanish team won the gold medal easily. There was just one problem: 10 of the 12 competitors did not have disabilities. When the team were running away with their first match, their coach instructed them to play less well. And when suspicions arose by people who recognised them, players were instructed to wear dark glasses and fake beards on their return to Madrid airport to lessen attention.
Team member and undercover journalist Carlos Ribagorda then blew the whistle on the ruse and returned his medal. The Spanish boss ultimately responsible for the machination was convicted of fraud. But the consequences were long lasting. Thanks to the scandal, events for those with intellectual impairments were discontinued by the International Paralympics Committee, and were only brought back in 2012.
This story of cheating has been made into a Hollywood movie– a blockbuster incident of cheating. In 1994, one day before the US Figure Skating Championship was due to begin, Tonya Harding’s rival Nancy Kerrigan was attacked with a metal bar in a corridor. The culprit was Shane Stant, who had been paid to break Kerrigan’s right leg (he didn’t, but still injured her enough that she could not compete, which was the aim). Harding won the competition.
Stant, who confessed to the FBI, had been hired by Harding’s ex-husband and bodyguard. The extent of Harding’s involvement is much debated to this day. Harding confessed that she found out about the plot in its aftermath, did not report it and pleaded guilty. She avoided prison but incurred a large fine and carried out community service. It was the end of her career. She briefly turned to boxing, but trouble continued to follow her.
In recent times, public opinion has softened towards Harding, who grew up in poverty and worked hard to achieve success in a privileged and affluent sport. There has also been much more acknowledgement of the abuse and duress she had suffered in her life. For her part, Kerrigan has forgiven Harding. In 2017, the film I, Tonya won a number of awards, with Margot Robbie playing the lead.
Perhaps the most famous of all cheats, Lance Armstrong was the darling of world sports – handsome with a pop star for a girlfriend, celebrity friends and a philanthropist who had raised thousands of pounds for cancer charities after he himself was diagnosed. Armstrong’s story is unique in that he recovered from terminal cancer to become a seven time Tour de France champion- it was a Hollywood type story. Then it all came crashing down.
Armstrong had been the subject of doping rumours for many years but it was in 2012 when he was finally charged. He was stripped of all honours, including his seven Tour de France titles and Olympic medal. People abandoned their yellow Livestrong wristbands. To protect his secret, Armstrong was also a bully to his team and journalists. After a partial confession in an interview with Oprah, he did not exactly endear himself by saying he would do it all again if he had his time over, and also for facilitating the doping of – and pressurising of – others. Armstrong’s fall from grace has inspired numerous documentaries (The Armstrong Lie and Seven Deadly Sins by David Walsh among the best).
Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, world No 1 and already the “rock star” of chess, accused the American Hans Niemann of cheating after the 19-year-old ended Carlsen’s over-the-board 53-match winning sequence.
Niemann accepts his victory was unexpected; especially because Carlsen was playing with the white pieces but maintains he prepared for an opening move and “by some ridiculous miracle” Carlsen played it. Carlsen was not buying it and – for the first time ever – quit the tournament. In a delicious twist, the two were fated to meet again two weeks later, this time over the internet. After playing a single move Carlsen again rather dramatically resigned in protest.
Other prominent figures in the chess world have weighed in. Niemann admitted he had cheated twice before, years ago, but put it down to youthful indiscretion. He has even declared he is willing to play naked to prove his present innocence; which might not be enough considering some detractors have suggested he used vibrating anal beads to receive signals.
And there you have it, a condensed account of a hundred year history of cheating in sport that demonstrates a skewed moral compass across various sports. But what is pertinent is that- no matter the method of cheating- there are a myriad of scenarios where the end result is the culprit being caught. A cliché, but ‘cheaters never prosper’ rings true so why do it?
