18 RATED MANCHESTER UNITED SCANDAL MAKES THE MOVIES

28-07-2006

There've been two major football scandals this summer - but only one has attracted banner headlines.

Match-rigging in Italy's Serie A has even been front page news in Britain - not surprisingly as it invoved four of the country's major clubs including Ac Milan and Juventus.

Wry smiles all round as the original severe penalties were downsized on appeal - and unless UEFA steps in, Milan (the club of president Silvio Berlusconi) will be able to take their place in the Champions League next season.

A disgrace, but not a surprise. And it makes you wonder - if that's the punishment for doing something wrong, I presume La Cicciolina is on hand for when everything goes well.

Dubious dealing of a different order is in evidence closer to home where the Glazer family's recent re-financing of their Manchester United takeover has been hailed as a masterstroke by the financial press.

And indeed it is.

The Glazer's have now saddled United with £660 million of debt rather than the £260 million that originally showed on the balance sheet.

City slickers like the deal because the interest payments are marginally less crippling for what - until the buyout - had been the richest club in the world.

The Glazers love it, because it means they control a legendary “franchise” but have got someone else to pay for it.

It's only the fans who are griping - and who cares about them?

More than ever, it's now clear that a major British institution has been hijacked by a bunch of wheeler dealing Yanks, who have bought control of Manchester United literally at the expense of supporters - they'll have to pay higher ticket prices and presumably see fewer glamorous signings until the debt is repaid.

Never mind the onion bag - these days a swag bag might be more appropriate around Old Trafford.

(This whole sorry saga is documented in the movie Manchester Disunited and other Football Feuds, a film by The Stirrer editor, Adrian Goldberg, which premieres at the MAC Theatre, Canon Hill Park, Birmingham, on Friday August 18. Tel 0121 440 3838. Tickets only £4.50 or £3.50 concessions to be followed by a post-show discussion.

Alternatively, wherever you live in the UK you can bid on ebay to watch the domestic premiere in your own home on Thursday August 18 - just go to www.ebay.co.uk and join in the bidding - type in “Manchester Disunited” to their search.)