Last year, the Canadian Soccer Association pledged to conduct an audit of the Canadian Soccer League’s finances.
This was all before the matchfixing news came to light. What they were doing was looking to see if the CSL was abiding by the standards set forth by the CSA for division three leagues. They weren’t.
During the course of the CBC investigation, we obtained the CSA's 2011 audit findings - although, I would hardly call it an audit. The one page document shows the team salaries, the number of pro players each club has and that’s about it. There is no specific findings on who finances the teams, which player receives what amount or even if the player did receive the amount the team claims.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The ‘audit’ even seems to admit its shortcomings and how little they gathered:
In many cases, the clubs pay their players per game, rather than on a monthly salary. For example, a club may pay a player $100 for a win, $50 for a loss, etc. Provided the player was listed on the roster sheet that game, the player is paid accordingly. In these cases, it is assumed the player has appeared on the roster, with the game being won. The figures shown are therefore based upon the maximum amount the player could theoretically make.
I've spoken to several owners, past and present, and they confirmed that while the numbers weren't correct to the decimal they were 'close enough.'
So, why is this relevant now? Well, aside from the fact that nine of the teams weren’t fulfilling their financial standards – five of them not even matching half of that – the CSA once again finds itself taking a hard look at the CSL. And, for good reason.
As the CBC investigation showed last week, fixers are targeting the CSL because it is away from the spotlight and has little oversight. One of the details that may have been overlooked by some was this choice quote, pulled from the police wiretaps that captured the fixers talking about the CSL.
“One can start a team there with $150,000 and play in the first league right away."
That was Chris Budimir speaking to Marijo Cvrtak. Budimir is the man who came to Canada to help fix the game in 2009.
The wiretaps showed that he and Cvrtak spoke to current and former players about how the league accepts franchises and how quickly they could join the league. Budimir reported to Cvrtak that it was a three-year process. Cvrtak asked Budimir if they could do it in one.
That’s a scary thought - the damage that these guys would do while financing an entire team is terrifying, in fact.
So, as the CSA begins the long process of looking at what is going on in the CSL, it would be wise of them to not repeat the mistakes of last year.
If you’re going to truly get to the bottom of the allegations, there needs to be a complete investigation and audit of the financiers of Canadian Soccer League teams. At the very least, to erase all doubt.
The CSL, for its part, made a statement on Thursday saying it would cooperate with the CBC and any law enforcement agencies. I assume the same will apply when the CSA comes knocking.
As several CSL players have alleged, the 2009 game was not an isolated incident. As such, it warrants much more attention than just a one page audit.