Football and Gangsters How Organised Crime Controls the Beautiful Game

by Johnson, Graham

• ISBN13: 9781845962470
• ISBN10: 1845962478
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-09-28
• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing

Summary

Who controls soccer in Britain today? The FA? The clubs? The fans? The shocking reality is that organized crime is aggressively moving in and there's little the authorities can do about it. A revealing investigation into how organized crime has begun to take hold behind the scenes of professional soccer, this study discusses how drug dealers launder money by buying clubs, hooligan gangs have muscled their way into the boardroom, and the influence of Asian betting rings continues to grow. Through a series of dangerous undercover investigations, along with interviews with players, club officials, police, and the underworld figures responsible, the sensational evidence is laid bare.

Author Biography

Graham Johnson is a crime writer and author of the bestselling Powder Wars and Druglord. He is a former investigations editor at the Sunday Mirror and during ten years on Fleet Street covered subjects including child slavery, people smuggling, drugs and the Balkan Wars.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Soccer and Crime: the Culture	p. 7
Wayne Rooney: the Gangsters Move In	p. 13
Wayne Rooney: the Sex Tapes	p. 29
Wayne Rooney: Blackmail and Extortion	p. 61
Steven Gerrard: Taxmen and Drug-Dealer	p. 77
Steven Gerrard: Moving to Chelsea...Can Damage Your Health	p. 97
Rio Ferdinand: Rude Boys	p. 105
Leeds United: Cutting Costs by Drugging Players?	p. 113
Michael Owen: Baby Face	p. 125
Robbie Fowler: the [pound]28-Million Man	p. 133
The Footy Player, the Rap Star and the Gangster	p. 147
Extortion Epidemic: the Case Studies	p. 151
Mark Ward: Scoring Goals - Scoring Coke	p. 157
Retraining for Rackets: Mickey Thomas and Stephen Cole	p. 171
Scottish Soccer: a Gangsters' Paradise	p. 179
Global Football Graft	p. 189
Epilogue - Hooligans, Money-Launderers and Agents	p. 197
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