Nothing like blowing the whistle almost 14 years down the road. Mark Hateley, a former England striker, says he was given an interesting proposition back in 1993 before a Champions League game against Marseille. The then Rangers star was offered a large sum of money to not play in the game, one that Marseille went on to win despite his turning down the offer and playing.
“It was a friend of a friend, who had got in touch via certain routes, basically asking me not to play,” Hateley told the Bramley Today in England. “It would be financially rewarding for you, he said, should I not play in the Marseille game.”
“He was not an agent I knew, but another agent had given him the number,” he continued. “It was a French-speaking person, offering me large sums of money not to play against Marseille.”
Talk about giving a whole new meaning to the concept of game fixing. We all know this type of practice is common in European football, but paying a player not to play is pretty clever. Marseille beat Rangers anyway and went on to win their only Champions League title in team history. Perhaps Hateley should have accepted the offer? After all, he would have made a few extra bucks and his team would have an excuse to fall back on.
