African Cup Of Nations Scandal: Benin Manager Asked to "Manipulate" Outcome

Benin manager Reinhard Fabisch has revealed to BBC News and other leading European media outlets that he was offered a lucrative amount of money to "manipulate" the outcome of the match between Mali-Benin in a Group B fixture at the African Cup Of Nations.

The news was made shortly after Mali won by a scoreline of 1-0, thanks in a large part to a Fredric Kanoute penalty that sealed Benin's fate. 

According to Fabisch, he was approached by someone in his hotel room who claimed ties to a group in Singapore that organized international friendlies and training camps.

"He said he worked for people in Asia who were ready to pay $20,000 if I could manipulate the result of a match," said a shocked Fabish. "I told him if he didn't clear out immediately I'd call the police.

"I was astonished that he had the guts to approach a German to fix a football match," said Fabisch.

The timing of the scandal couldn't have been any worse considering the rise of African Football to the international stage. Along with the African Cup Of Nations finals in Ghana, Africa will also be playing host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup that is set to take place in South Africa.

"I think that African players are vulnerable to this kind of approach because many of them don't have money. This is why poor countries like Benin are targeted."

Fabish couldn't have been more correct with that statement.

From an economic standpoint, many African players find themselves in unfortunate situations where they are forced into corruption, perhaps due to a lack of wealth. To be honest, these circumstances can stem far beyond the world of football.

As football fans from all over the world, it's easy for us to comment from an outsider's perspective. What we don't realize is that some players are put into unfortunate situations where taking large sums of cash is the only way out. 

Some players need to find a way to support their families and the loved ones around them. This pressure can often lead to players doing what is necessary to get the job done—including taking corrupted sums of cash.

Having said that, with arguably one of the biggest sporting events about to take place for the first time in Africa, the Confederation of African Football will need to take whatever measures are necessary to get rid of corruption.

For now, the Confederation has told Fabisch that he has 24 hours to sign an affidavit confirming his allegation of an attempted bribery at the African Cup Of Nations finals. 

Everyone has seen the happiness that a massive international tournament like the World Cup or the African Cup Of Nations can bring people. Football-mad fans come from all over of the world just to see their respective national teams take part in a tournament. There is nothing more joyful than witnessing crowds of people celebrating jubilantly for their teams.

Just look at the effect that the 2007 Asian Cup had on the entire country of Iraq. In disarray following the American invasion, Iraq's national football team pulled together to unite an entire country.

It's just a shame that corruption has reared it's ugly head into football once again—it simply doesn't belong in the game.