The Reds have had a long history of controversies and match-fixing allegations have been levied against them in the past. In 2013, a Champions League game involving Liverpool was at the centre of the biggest ever football match-fixing scandal in Europe along with 680 other games.
The 2009 Champions League tie against Hungarian side Debrecen VSC was probed by the police and was under scrutiny.
Although the Anfield club were not under any suspicion, it has been reported that Debrecen goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic was paid to ensure Liverpool score more than two goals in that match, even though that did not happen with the Reds winning 1-0 (Back to his senses?).
Back in 1915, a Football League First Division match between Manchester United and Liverpool was fixed in United’s favour and was known as the famous 1915 British football betting scandal. Players from both sides benefited from the bets and all those involved were subsequently banned for life by the Football Association, although most later had their bans overturned.
Liverpool have been on the wrong side of abysmal refereeing decisions in the past. One of the most controversial matches in Liverpool’s history is the second leg of the 1965 European Cup tie against Inter Milan. Liverpool led 3-1 from the first leg at Anfield but quickly went 2-0 down in the reverse fixture to two very controversial goals, thanks to some bizarre refereeing by the Spanish referee Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibi that left the Liverpool fans raging.
Ron Yeats was penalised for a questionable offence on the edge of the penalty box and even though the referee Ortiz de Mendibil had signalled for an indirect free-kick, Mario Corso scored from a direct shot and the goal wasn’t disallowed -this opened the scoring for Milan. While Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence was bouncing the ball, Joaquin Peiro challenged the goalkeeper to level the scoring before Giacinto Facchetti put the Italian giants ahead on aggregate to deny Liverpool their first European Cup title. To add to the misery, an Ian St John goal was controversially ruled out for offside as the Reds were dumped out of the league. Later, Inter Milan faced accusations of match fixing, largely due to the antics of the referee.
You might also want to read – Four Unforgettable Betting Scandals (Match Fixings) by Liverpool FC Players
Match fixing is not as uncommon as one would think and there are actually many ways and means to do it as can be found in this article here. Many even believe that the VAR was instrumental in rigging the English Premier League title in Liverpool’s favour – this might even be a method of match-fixing! Then the question arises- Did Liverpool ever require luck and VAR to clinch the elusive title? and How many VAR decisions were influenced in Liverpool’s way? The use of VAR has been making headlines for quite sometime and football fans are still divided over its use in the Premier League.
Many have been frustrated by the tight calls and believe that the excitement and spirit of the game is getting sapped by the precise nature of the VAR technology. Liverpool had many decisions fall their way- Pedro Neto’s goal disallowed due to offside, the Adam Lallana goal off his arm, controversial penalty awarded against Leicester even though there was barely any contact- It can be said that Liverpool were benefitted by the use of VAR, but would be morally wrong to accuse them of match-fixing without substantial evidence.
