Football Leaks "has hit the mainstream," according to Matthew Syed of the LONDON TIMES. The website, set up in September to "increase transparency in the game," has enjoyed a series of coups over recent weeks, publishing the transfer agreement that brought Anthony Martial to ManU and the contract of Gareth Bale with Real Madrid.
The detail "is intriguing." We now know that Bale "was the most expensive transfer in history" with a price tag of €100M. Who "is behind the website, modelled on WikiLeaks?" Nobody "seems to know." It "is reportedly based in Portugal and uses Russian computer servers." Their most high-profile success before the Bale revelations "was the publication of documents relating to illegal third-party influence exercised by the agency Doyen Sports over Twente." A subsequent investigation by the Dutch FA "led to the club being banned from European competition for three years."
Little "wonder that many powerful people are up in arms." Jonathan Barnett, the agent of Bale, said, "There should be an independent investigation because it’s outrageous. I think it is disgraceful that people can get hold of this stuff." Doyen accused the site of obtaining confidential documents through a "cyberattack." Football Leaks "emphatically rejects these claims, and has provided information to support its denials," but in an email exchange on Sunday, it also acknowledged that it is "now fearful of possible retribution." Whatever one’s view on Football Leaks and its methods, however, "there can be no doubt that it is right to call for greater transparency." Agents and "other assorted leeches find their niche in the subterfuge of the modern game." Fans "have a right to know how much clubs are paying for players, how much is being siphoned off in brokerage fees and other activities that might sound alarm bells" (LONDON TIMES, 1/25).
