Scandal strikes Austrian game after allegations of blackmail and gun-point threats lead to the sacking of a player
On 27 October Red Bull Salzburg played SV Grödig in what was only the second derby between the two Salzburg teams since the early 1970s: a classic David v Goliath match between the moneyed league leaders and the recently promoted newcomers.
Deep into added time Grödig's Dominique Taboga tackled the Salzburg winger Dusan Svento in the area. Salzburg's players appealed for a penalty but the referee waved play on. Salzburg were leading 3-0 at that point, so few people bothered to complain afterwards. But there are plenty of reasons to scrutinise that tackle now.
Last Monday Taboga told his club that he had been blackmailed for more than €87,000 (£73,000) by a criminal gang after refusing to get involved in match-fixing. Salzburg police were alerted and on the following day three men were arrested after Taboga handed them another €3,000 at a pre-arranged meeting.
One of the three men was Sanel Kuljic, a former Austria international who had started his career at Grödig and gone on to become the Austrian Bundesliga's top scorer for two seasons in a row, while playing for Austria Vienna. Kuljic and Taboga had played together at Kapfenberger SV until spring 2012.
Kuljic's lawyer claimed Taboga was merely paying back money loaned to his client but the story seemed clear: here was a player who was bravely standing up to the match-fixing mafia. Austria's Krone tabloid quoted an internal police report which said that Taboga had been threatened that refusing to cooperate could have "grave consequences" for him and his family and that his career could come to a "sudden end".
At one point the Grödig player was reportedly held at gun-point in order to record a match-fixing admission that could later be held against him. The club seemed to support its player.
Then, in the middle of the week, the story turned. First Taboga admitted that he had paid €30,000 to his alleged blackmailers so far, instead of the almost €90,000 claimed previously. Then he withdrew the claim that he had been held at gunpoint.
Finally it was reported that the 30-year-old had admitted to trying to incite four other Grödig players to fix a match last season: the victim suddenly looked more like a perpetrator.
On Thursday morning Taboga was sacked. His coach said: "I am deeply disappointed in Taboga because he captained our team several times and was an absolute leader on the pitch. We knew he had financial problems but we didn't realise there was manipulation going on. We are all very shocked".
On Friday Salzburger Nachrichten wrote that Taboga had offered to fix the derby against Red Bull Salzburg by causing a penalty, allowing Sulim D, one of the three men arrested on Tuesday, to place a bet worth thousands of euros and thus repay his debts. During the match Taboga had allegedly tried to commit a foul but failed and in the ensuing dispute the affair had got out of hand. Taboga disputes this version of events.
Whether Dominique Taboga is the villain or the hero of this piece remains unclear. What is certain is that there have been suspicions about match-fixing in Austrian professional football before. In December last year Kurier newspaper revealed that a group of First Vienna players had fixed at least three matches in the second division.
In April this year several hundred thousand euros were bet in Asia on Grödig losing their match against Kapfenberg. Grödig were top of the table at the time, captained by Taboga.
Matthew Benham, the managing director of Smartodds, singled out the Austrian Bundesliga as one of the leagues in Europe most susceptible to match-fixing: "Austria and Spain are worrying," he told 11 Freunde magazine in February.
The Austrian league has not always shown a particular willingness to engage with such accusations. When Europol released a report on match-fixing in Europe this year which again pointed the finger at Austria, the Bundesliga chairman, Georg Pangl, said that "the largest part of the revelations are old hat. Europol should be more structured and thought-through in the way it goes about these things."
Similarly the Bundesliga president, Hans Rinner, on Friday criticised neither the players nor clubs at the heart of the latest allegations but Graz court for releasing details about match-fixing allegations without prior consultation with the league federation. "The naming of the Bundesliga clubs involved will trigger speculation and rushed judgments that can do serious reputation damage," he said in a statement on the federation's website.
Whether it is wise to stop speculation at this stage is questionable. The day before Taboga went to the police last week Grödig drew 2-2 with Rapid Vienna. Rapid scored the equaliser five minutes before full-time: a penalty, caused by a clumsy Dominique Taboga tackle. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
On 27 October Red Bull Salzburg played SV Grödig in what was only the second derby between the two Salzburg teams since the early 1970s: a classic David v Goliath match between the moneyed league leaders and the recently promoted newcomers.
Deep into added time Grödig's Dominique Taboga tackled the Salzburg winger Dusan Svento in the area. Salzburg's players appealed for a penalty but the referee waved play on. Salzburg were leading 3-0 at that point, so few people bothered to complain afterwards. But there are plenty of reasons to scrutinise that tackle now.
Last Monday Taboga told his club that he had been blackmailed for more than €87,000 (£73,000) by a criminal gang after refusing to get involved in match-fixing. Salzburg police were alerted and on the following day three men were arrested after Taboga handed them another €3,000 at a pre-arranged meeting.
One of the three men was Sanel Kuljic, a former Austria international who had started his career at Grödig and gone on to become the Austrian Bundesliga's top scorer for two seasons in a row, while playing for Austria Vienna. Kuljic and Taboga had played together at Kapfenberger SV until spring 2012.
Kuljic's lawyer claimed Taboga was merely paying back money loaned to his client but the story seemed clear: here was a player who was bravely standing up to the match-fixing mafia. Austria's Krone tabloid quoted an internal police report which said that Taboga had been threatened that refusing to cooperate could have "grave consequences" for him and his family and that his career could come to a "sudden end".
At one point the Grödig player was reportedly held at gun-point in order to record a match-fixing admission that could later be held against him. The club seemed to support its player.
Then, in the middle of the week, the story turned. First Taboga admitted that he had paid €30,000 to his alleged blackmailers so far, instead of the almost €90,000 claimed previously. Then he withdrew the claim that he had been held at gunpoint.
Finally it was reported that the 30-year-old had admitted to trying to incite four other Grödig players to fix a match last season: the victim suddenly looked more like a perpetrator.
On Thursday morning Taboga was sacked. His coach said: "I am deeply disappointed in Taboga because he captained our team several times and was an absolute leader on the pitch. We knew he had financial problems but we didn't realise there was manipulation going on. We are all very shocked".
On Friday Salzburger Nachrichten wrote that Taboga had offered to fix the derby against Red Bull Salzburg by causing a penalty, allowing Sulim D, one of the three men arrested on Tuesday, to place a bet worth thousands of euros and thus repay his debts. During the match Taboga had allegedly tried to commit a foul but failed and in the ensuing dispute the affair had got out of hand. Taboga disputes this version of events.
Whether Dominique Taboga is the villain or the hero of this piece remains unclear. What is certain is that there have been suspicions about match-fixing in Austrian professional football before. In December last year Kurier newspaper revealed that a group of First Vienna players had fixed at least three matches in the second division.
In April this year several hundred thousand euros were bet in Asia on Grödig losing their match against Kapfenberg. Grödig were top of the table at the time, captained by Taboga.
Matthew Benham, the managing director of Smartodds, singled out the Austrian Bundesliga as one of the leagues in Europe most susceptible to match-fixing: "Austria and Spain are worrying," he told 11 Freunde magazine in February.
The Austrian league has not always shown a particular willingness to engage with such accusations. When Europol released a report on match-fixing in Europe this year which again pointed the finger at Austria, the Bundesliga chairman, Georg Pangl, said that "the largest part of the revelations are old hat. Europol should be more structured and thought-through in the way it goes about these things."
Similarly the Bundesliga president, Hans Rinner, on Friday criticised neither the players nor clubs at the heart of the latest allegations but Graz court for releasing details about match-fixing allegations without prior consultation with the league federation. "The naming of the Bundesliga clubs involved will trigger speculation and rushed judgments that can do serious reputation damage," he said in a statement on the federation's website.
Whether it is wise to stop speculation at this stage is questionable. The day before Taboga went to the police last week Grödig drew 2-2 with Rapid Vienna. Rapid scored the equaliser five minutes before full-time: a penalty, caused by a clumsy Dominique Taboga tackle. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.