THREE top footballers accepted bribes to fix the outcome of Premiership games as part of a conspiracy involving a Far Eastern betting syndicate, a jury was told yesterday. But the plot to make large amounts of money was exposed in a sting" operation filmed by a national newspaper, it was claimed.
Winchester Crown Court was told that former Liverpool and Southampton goalkeeper, Bruce Grobbelaar, was videoed in an operation organised by the Sun newspaper collecting £2,000 in an alleged kickback payment involving a close friend and associate.
Two other footballers - former England international and Gladiators presenter, John Fashanu, and Wimbledon goalkeeper, Hans Segers - are also accused in what is alleged to be the biggest scandal to hit football in 30 years.
The players face corruption charges along with Malaysian businessman, Mr Hens Suan Lim, who is said to be the British representative of the mysterious betting syndicate.
The prosecution alleged that Mr Grobbelaar became embittered when his £160,000-a-year salary, earned at the height of his career as a top goalkeeper at Liverpool, began to dwindle below that of younger players.
It was claimed he became involved with the syndicate, lured by the offer of a £40,000 to £60,000 payout for him to throw one match.
And it was claimed that the gang aimed to rig a Liverpool versus Newcastle game in November 1993 which the Tynesiders eventually won 3-0.
The evidence of the Zimbabwean international's former business partner, Mr Chris Vincent, will form the central plank of the case in a trial which is expected to last up to eight weeks.
Much of the prosecution case revolves around telephone calls made between the defendants' mobile phones, often over extended periods, overseas and back to back, with special code words being used to communicate between the conspirators, it was alleged.
The police investigation began after Mr Vincent contacted the Sun over the match-fixing claims after falling out with his former partner.
Documents recovered from Mr Grobbelaar after preliminary inquiries bore telephone numbers of Mr Fashanu and Mr Lim, and when telephone bills were examined the "true picture" started to emerge, the prosecution said.
It was claimed that in August 1993, the footballer mentioned the name of John Fashanu in connection with an approach he said he had had with people in the Far East.
Mr Grobbelaar, it was claimed, said they wanted advice on the likely results of Premier League games so that they could bet, having had the benefit of "specialist knowledge".
The counsel said it was this "somewhat insidious way of getting involved that marked perhaps the beginning of Mr Grobbelaar's financial involvement with this scheme".
As Mr Grobbelaar's career went into decline he allegedly told Mr Vincent that he wanted to earn as much as possible over the forthcoming two years. And by September 1993, between £40,000 and £60,000 was changing hands.
So whatever the scheme may have involved in the months from 1992 until now, according to Mr Vincent it was changing from tips or assistance on form to actually betting and serious money and chucking games," the prosecution said.
During evidence it was alleged that Mr Segers had paid large sums of cash into the Swiss branch of an American bank during the football seasons of 1993 and 1994.
The prosecution said Mr Segers had told police the money was the proceeds of crimes committed by him in the 1970s when still a teenager. It had been stored away in an account in Jersey and had only been drawn down in 1993 and 1994.
But the Crown had been unable to find any evidence whatever of the crimes in the 1970s or the account in Jersey, said Mr David Calvert Smith for the prosecution.
Mr Lim (31), Mr Fashanu(34), and the Dutch-born Mr Segers (35), now with Wolverhampton Wanderers, are jointly accused of one match-rigging count between February 1st, 1991, and November 9th, 1994. A second count against Mr Lim, Mr Fashanu and Mr Grobbelaar (39), alleges a similar conspiracy between November 1st, 1992 and November 9th, 1994.
Mr Grobbelaar faces a third corruption count relating to the £2,000 payment from Mr Vincent.
They all deny the charges.
The prosecution stressed that there was no evidence linking Mr Grobbelaar to Mr Segers, who is alleged to have received £19,000 for his role in Wimbledon's 3-0 defeat at Anfield in October 1994.
But Mr Calvert Smith reminded the jury that a goalkeeper may not always be able to influence.
"There is, of course, a limit to what one person can do in front of 40,000 to 50,000 people, and a TV audience of millions, which isn't perfectly clear and obvious," he said.
"You can't simply let the ball roll through your legs. But goal-keepers do make mistakes sometimes, and therefore it may be that the odd deliberate mistake may escape attention.
"And if you are a betting man and wish to tip the odds in your favour, the goalkeeper is the most obvious single player in a team to approach, and is the most obvious person on his own to have any real influence on the result of a match."
It was stressed that match-fixing remained an imprecise science and that corrupt players could be foiled by the effort of their colleagues often able to win despite the efforts of the match-fixers.
The prosecutor said that in the match between Liverpool and Manchester United in March 1994 just such an outcome occurred.
The trial was adjourned until today.