British Vision Issue 44 足球腐败

Last Tuesday, The Ten O'Clock News looked at serious allegations made in the BBC's Panorama¹ program about the Football Premiership. Three football agents claimed the Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has taken illegal payments, he's firmly denied the claims. Adam Parsons reports.

Sam Allardyce arrived at Walsall tonight with some problems ahead of him, not so much the challenge of inspiring his Bolton team in the Cup game, but the fact he was about to be accused of corruption³. In tonight’s Panorama program, three football agents, each of them filmed secretly, separately claimed Allardyce accepted illegal payments, known in football as “bungs”.

First was Teni Yerima, an agent based in France.

I tell you with Sam Allardyce it's wonderful. You can do everything with him.

Yerima now says he made up his comments.

Charles Collymore was the second agent filmed commenting on Allardyce.
It might be that I give Sam a call and say, “Listen, I got something. You wanna hear about this, 'cause he likes a deal.

Collymore too, claims he fabricated his comments.
Peter Harrison was the third and best-known agent shown. He was filmed saying that he bribes⁴ Allardyce by offering to pay money to his son Craig, also an agent.

His son, who’s thirty, I say. “Listen Sam, we'll give Craig some money,”
Okay.
And, and he'll say, “Yeah, okay, we’ll do a, we’ll do a deal”

Allardyce was not the only manager implicated⁵ by the BBC’s research. Eighteen past and present Premiership managers, not all of them identified in tonight’s program, were named as corrupt² by people who had dealt with them directly. So, what is a bung? Well, let’s say, this football manager wants to sign a new contract with this player. He will do it by contacting the player’s agent and they'll discuss the terms of the deal. The agent will then have to ask for fee for his part in fixing up the new contract but an unscrupulous manager will only sanction that if he gets a slice of the fee for himself, and that secret, illegal payment is known as a “bung”.

Tonight's investigation⁶ did spread into other areas though.

This is Frank Arnesen, the man in charge of youth football at Chelsea. He was filmed proposing a deal to sign a 15-year-old registered with another club, an illegal approach known in football as “tapping up”.

150,000 pounds, spread in three years, and we can do it like a royalty⁷ bonus and this and this, spilt it up in salary. We can talk about that.

Chelsea denied that Arnesen's meeting broke any official regulations.

Tonight Bolton's fans were able to celebrate victory, while Allardyce told the BBC he'd never requested or received a bung. Yet, football is now facing some awkward questions, ones it will finally have to confront.

New Words and Expressions

panorama n.全景：包括周围所有区域的全部画景，详尽的描述；综合评述；概观：一系列事件的印象
Football Premiership 英格兰足球超级联赛
fabricate vt.制作, 构成, 捏造, 伪造, 虚构
unscrupulous adj.肆无忌惮的, 无道德的, 不谨慎的

1 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

5 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。