Dark Side of Premier League Ignored by Press

The sun shines brightly for the Premier League right now. The new season has kicked off without the plague of TV problems that La Liga has encountered. The play on the pitch, so far, has been exciting and much better than the slump we saw last Fall. The only negatives thus far have been the controversial refereeing decisions with teams like Fulham, Liverpool and Chelsea — to name but a few — having key decisions going against them.

But look under the carpet, and you’ll notice a dark netherworld of activity that the press haven’t covered lately. That’s because it’s remarkable how soon we as football fans forget. And it’s remarkable how the flurry of entertainment on the pitch makes us forget some of the less friendly moments in the game.

I’m talking about the bung scandals and the Tevez Affair. The latter has been quiet as of late. Even trying to find updates about the case on the Sheffield United website is difficult to do so. The last report is five pages deep on their site here.

In the bung scandal, it’s still dragging on. The latest there was the recent arrest of Pascal Chimbonda on suspicion of fraud resulting from his transfer from Bastia to Wigan. The longer these type of cases drag on (as this one has, indeed), the more likely the public is to get less interested in the story. We’re still waiting for the shoe to drop regarding a Premier League manager getting fined or accused of irregularities.

I believe it’s the press’s responsibility to stay on top of these stories and keep on reporting them to the public and demanding resolution. Instead, the tabloids resort to backpages with Mourinho talking about eggs. How low can we go?