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The question this topic is dedicated to in full looks like this: can a football team (or a team from another sport) initiate a loss or a series of losses of its own free will in order to achieve some of its goals?
In one book about sports betting, I read an interesting case about an English football team. I will not mention its name, since not everyone agrees that this is exactly how it happened. As the author of the book wrote about it. In short, the matter was that the players of the football team did not like its coach and they really wanted to change this coach. But since they did not have the legal right to do such things, they resorted to a cunning tactic. They deliberately began to lose one match after another in order to change the coach and thus ruin his reputation. Do you believe in this version of events?
The second case happened with one regional Russian team, whose funding was sharply reduced. In protest or simply because there was no point in playing better (according to some authors), this team also began to deliberately lose matches with equal teams.
Do you think this is the right explanation?
Do you think it is possible for a team in modern football to want to initiate a loss of their own free will? I mean by their own free will, not by the will of a coach or match-fixing agents from outside.

Of course, it is possible for a football team to deliberately initiate its own losses if they don't like the coach, and they want a new coach. Since the players knows that it is unprofessional to complain about the coach or tell the management to fire him, they will do it their own way by intentionally losing their matches so that the management and fans will believe that the coach is incompetent and fire him.

It happened last year with Roma, when Mourinho was complaining that he needed new players in addition to the old ones. Roma players from my own understanding were deliberately losing their matches so that Mourino will be fired and after Mourinho got fired and De Rosi took over, the team won straight three matches to make the club feel that Mourinho was their problem. Whose tactics did they use to win those three consecutive wins, was it not Mourinho game tactics. De Rossi finally got sacked because he couldn't improve the club's performance after sometimes.

I’ve heard stories like this before. What they did isn’t really the best way to get rid of their coach, but sometimes it happens because they feel unheard. Still, I think it’s unfair since it’s not handled through proper communication. This is what we call a silent rally, and to make their plan work, they just let their losses do the talking so the coach takes the blame.

That’s why, as a coach, it’s crucial to stay calm in decision-making and be open to all the players' suggestions. This way, communication stays smooth, and everyone can be productive together.

Are you talking about Chelsea in the past? I think when José Mourinho become their manager again that time if I remember very well. There are many other clubs that the players will be playing well after their coach has been changed after series of their poor performance. They will start playing good after the manager has been changed.

I was thinking like this in the past but I changed my mind. You should also know that the new manager will make some changes which can alter the performance of the team.

It happens not only in football but in other sports as well. In basketball, for example, in the NBA, teams might deliberately lose to secure a specific ranking to face an opponent they believe they have a better chance of beating. This kind of strategic positioning happens with playoff standings, teams might aim to have a certain seed, whether it’s to gain home-court advantage or even a perceived disadvantage, all to face a more favorable matchup in the first round.

There is nothing surprising in this. But the second case is surprising only because it happened at all - a reduction in funding. Usually the opposite happens in Russian football: the worse they play, the more funding they receive.

Yes, OP, you are right; it was about the coach "draining" that I thought when I started reading your post. In my country, such an incident occurred recently. The champion team at the local championship either lost or drew several games in a row in the first round, sacrificing their bonuses, because everyone was unhappy with the coach. After several unsuccessful games, the coach, due to failure to fulfill his professional duties, was asked to leave. And what happened next? The team won away with a good score. Coincidence? I don't think so, since these players have always been successful, but the coach's attitude toward the players did not satisfy them.
And although this case is not announced publicly, people who are close to the management communicate with each other, and as you know if two people know one secret, then it is no longer a secret.

Yes, there have been such cases, although they are not very frequent. The aforementioned case of the team that doesn't buy the coach and worsens its performance until the new coach comes in, or the team that has mathematically won the league or a qualifying round and lets itself lose to face a rival in the next phase, or favours another team because it has received the offer of a juicy briefcase full of cash, things like that.

I have witnessed this first person because where I live doing business with matches of football is a very profitable business, presidents of different clubs do what they want and get the result they want even putting correct scores in it. They do the same even when they qualify in the preliminary Champions League rounds when they tell the players what kind of result they won, many of the times, well I think not in the recent years as UEFA has punished them, yet in those years they lost like 1-4 or 0-4 even in home stadium when they were playing an equal or lower performing team. Now they still do it but in a more subtle way, so these things are normal and happen from a lot of time, I call this theater football as they are not playing football but rather theater.

it happens and sometimes, it's not just the collective agreement of the team but sometimes, a player can instigate this kind of thing because he feels he's not being treated right and so he can underplay so it can affect the performance of the term. Thier are instances when we hard that certain team are underperforming because they want to do away with a certain coach that they are not comfortable with. My concern in this case is if such performance won't affect the overall rating of the players?

For instance, as a goal keeper, you agree with your team to loose a certain game just to punish your coach and you consistently conceed goals upon goals, and in the process, it gets recorded for you as part of the goals you've conceeded and and it might affect your reputation in the process. It only means that while trying to punish your coach, you're in the same process punishing yourself.

At first glance it appears to be an idea of some football team with very deliberate refusal to get rid of the coach. Though this may sound as quite drastic measures, but not that hard to understand the dynamics of a team, especially on such professional sport grounds. It may just make you lose your mood. And if there is a severe confrontation between the players and the coach Players may feel that failure is the only reason for the fundamental transformation, but intentional ruining of one's career comes with high risks. So it is not something that has come to people easily, nor happens to many even though they may desire a change in training. But a defeat hurts them in terms of their potential as a player. Still, it can happen when the situation with the coach becomes unsustainable and the player sees no other option.

It also does not make a lot of sense that intentionally puts the team into the second losing streak due to insufficient funds. Where sometimes a player's motivation may be tied directly to his financial support. When players feel underpaid or underappreciated It is not too hard to imagine they would lose motivation or even come up with poor arguments.

As mentioned in modern football especially at the highest level. It's hard to imagine a team intentionally losing for these reasons without repercussions. Because the stakes are so high sponsors, fans, and events are all at stake, several steps are taken to prevent this type of thing from happening too often. The player is under contract. The media must be carefully examined. and various clubs There are big financial goals tied to performance. Even if the players have problems with the management. But losing on the field tends to backfire.


I agree with you. When players or the team as a whole work hard to eliminate the coach. This doesn't just affect the coach's future. But also their own reputation and career. As you said, for example, if a player intentionally concedes a goal. Those points will remain. It may damage their career in the long run. This is because performance evaluations are crucial to contracts, transfers and even securing a spot in the team in the future.

Although it may seem like a short-term punishment to the coach, But the long-term effects can be detrimental to the players involved. It is worth noting that the world of football, especially in the professional sector, is very interconnected. News about players' deliberate underperformance may spread. This makes it difficult for them to find new opportunities.

That's why, I believe it's dangerous for the players to embark on that path. They may want to send a message to the hierarchy. However, in so doing They undermine their own position in the game. The same logic works for a team's ranking. Due to successive lower efficiency It can rub off on the league ranking reputation and even put the financial stability of the club at stake. It finally bites the players again in the back. It's a short-term process, but with long-time implications on everyone around.

Possibly, yes. I mean in the NBA, it is more common to fire a coach when a series of loses is obtained. So, it is very possible that the players could deliberately throw away every game possible to get rid of their coach. Now, as much as we view it as an isolated case against match-fixing, but it is definitely considered as one, because there are bettors who expect them to win especially against a weaker team, but with the things happening with them internally, they will again deliberately throw away the game.
If a team is proven to be doing it, I believe they'd surely face a serious consequences.

I believe that a team can initiate it's lose if they have a very good reason to do so, in agreement a team can achieve their goals. It's sounds weird that a team will deliberately lose their matches for any reasons to proof a point but I won't argue it if they do so for their own welfare. Deliberately losing a match must be a last resort to get what they want because nobody will ordinarily lose in anything just to proof a point. I'm sure that coaches must also know that their job security depends on the performance of the team that they're coaching, so it's a balanced equation for the players and their coach to give their best performances at anytime.

 I've come across this kind of story before and I think it's actually true and possible. If the team is displeased by the action of the coach, don't want him anymore but wasn't approved or others can't see anything wrong, then they just will have to go through other possible means to get rid of him. Definitely it's not the right thing to do as what ever loss they make in a roll will create another history for them in the sports scores probably making them losses in the eyes of others. But if they feel that they can go through such hard times to liberate them self then it's up to them.

I don’t think it’s wise to do it, but it could happen. I think it’s not implausible for teams to do it. It might be somewhat of a last resort for them to do this because I don’t see any motivation. It’s weird to do, but it can happen, in my opinion. The stories that do it might be hard to believe. It’s unethical, IMO.

There can be gambling issues that arise with it or something.

Definitely, If the team is performing well, nobody would admit their complaints, most coaches who bit the dust was as a result of bad performance from his players. Since footballers now capitalize on this as a criterion to remove a coach, it shows they do not care much about the club's success. Because losing few more games until the coach is removed would affect their position in the league, and what if the next manager is not competent? would they continue losing? why not play good football, and deliberate on the existing coach's flaws.

That is a costly way for them to air their complaints, but it does happen. Football players can express their dissatisfaction with the coach's actions in any way they see fit. Adopting this pattern, though, could cost you money and goodwill. Sponsors may be reluctant to contribute to such a club, which could harm the club's finances and reputation.

Rumors have surfaced regarding similar incidents in football. These, however, are internal problems that have been resolved internally and are kept quiet from the media due to the possibility of unfavorable outcomes. Since they have nothing to lose, retired players are often the ones who leak this news.

I thought it was a match-fixing when I first read your post, they are being discussed on many threads already. I'm glad it's a different discussion entirely and I say it is happening in the world of football. I believe it would be happening in the world of other sports too. The sports team you see has factions, those they are loyal to themselves, though this may not be plain to all of the team, the key areas of the team may be affected when a few of them have deliberately reduced their performance. This may not even happen as a group but a selective player who didn't want to perform well due to one reason or another. This is illegal and often happens with a price because the players will be demarketing themselves as well. For this, it is stylishly done. It's obvious at times when another management is constituted, with the same team, you may now see a brilliant performance.

Yes, I believe with that version because it is normal if players doesn't like their coach and want to get rid of him. If the team lose in many events, the manager or even the owner of the club will thinks that is something wrong happen to their team and will discuss it with coach and players.

Maybe that also happen in other club out of Russian team because we never know about the real things that happen to all clubs. But if we have relationship with one player on that team and he said about that, we will know for sure the details.

"Tanking." - to lose on purpose to gain advantage.

In basketball, specifically the NBA they do this so they can get a better Draft Pick for the next season, just like what the Spurs did to get Wembenyama and other known players in the league now. They will keep on losing games if they know they will not able to enter the playoffs. That way, they will have a better pick and most of those at the top picks are soon to be stars in the league.
It's a popular strategy but there's also a battle there as other teams who think they cannot win with their roster will do the same. Rebuilding teams will trade their stars and do this.

Well obviously this isnt a good approach when players dont like the coach way. Its quite better to be vocal to team owner or manager that they didnt like how the coach style and method rather than drag the whole reputation of their team just to make the coach seems to be wrong in decision making. Its unethical in my opinion, but if this happened before in real team then I pity the coach of that team for having a negative shredders boys.

I'm new to football and don't have much experience; thus, I haven't heard such stories. What would you suggest is a more appropriate form of protest? I understand your point that they're putting their careers at stake, but I can't think of many ways to demonstrate your dissatisfaction.

If you carefully consider their actions, they're quite reasonable in both cases. In the first scenario, it's a protest against the new coach; consecutive losses put pressure on higher management to take action, changing the coach as a result. In the second scenario, it makes perfect sense to demonstrate against a reduction in funding; what's the point of even trying to achieve a better performance when the whole team goes unnoticed and isn't appreciated?

Yep, in basketball we have seen this kind of diving, teams deliberately playing bad so that in the next draft pick, they will have a high chance to get the 1st player in the draft which is usually the best of that class. However, I do not know about the coaches though, if the coaches are that bad, then for sure the management will have to call his attention or even going to fire him even if he has a existing contract. But if football, it could be really that bad that a team will have to dive and have successive losses before the management will fire him. And maybe this is just a practice by low level football league?

Selling games is usually happen in sports game, even a large or small tournaments its all depends on the team management and also players, I saw players already throwing their first scores or kills (e-sports) because people seems they knew they have a bet on it as per observation of the fans of course, and in management it depends because imagine the high skilled team lose in an underdog team, depends on the situation like qualifiers if the other team already have a direct invite or already settled their score and the opposite team needs at least 1 game to win they throw out the game so both teams can participate in the tournament.

This happens if all the teams in the club do not like the coach if only 1 or 2 people do not like the coach it will not mean anything because the player can be replaced by another player by the coach if the player does not seem serious about playing football. But if all the players do not like the coach this makes sense so they can get a new coach who is better and more competent because maybe they feel that the coach is not suitable so no matter how hard you try, if the players and coach are not compatible, the club will never be able to progress.

This is an interesting topic and I am simply sure that there have been similar cases in big professional sports, when players could simply hate the coach. To be honest, this is a normal desire of a player, because the coach must find the keys to the players, support them emotionally before the match and say the right words. But in fact, players cannot contradict the coach and tell him to his face everything they think about him, so it is logical that the players decided to get rid of his services in such an original way.

I am also not interested in the question of whether these players bet money on their matches, because it is prohibited by law to do so. I think that some players could even hide this from their teammates, so as not to look respectable in front of others.

I don't really believe in the possibility of such a situation, but it is theoretically possible. Athletes can conspire among themselves to achieve the resignation (dismissal) of the coach.

However, a smart coach will never allow such a development of events. After all, it is the coach who makes decisions about including this or that player in the team. A smart coach knows about the threat of a "revolt" of players and takes appropriate measures in advance. A prudent coach will never take an informal leader who is prone to destructive actions into his team.

However, if such a person appears in his team, he will try to oppose him with another leader. The coach generally creates an atmosphere of healthy competition and healthy rivalry in the team, and he himself acts as the supreme arbiter and the main authority.

The coach must have a good understanding of human psychology - this is a very important part of his job. A coach who allowed a "revolt" in his sports team is a very bad coach.

Why not and what's stopping them in doing this ?
If a team does not like it's coach then they should have the eligibility to change the coach but if they are not then this can be one of the ways to do it.
I won't say it is morally the right thing to do but you have to find your way out if you wanna do it.
In the above cases, I would say it's quite possible and yes, teams "can" initiate their own losses to achieve their short term goals.

There are few reasons why a sport team will decide to do this and here are few reasons, because I have felt few reasons too while I was into sports at a very young age.

1. For money, it is possible that a team will let go of a championship cup because of the settlement behind closed doors, what they feed us is what we will get anyway, we can never know if what we watched is straight from the heart or something else.

I remember the time when I used to believe in WWF and WWE, thinking that those are real because at one point it looked real until it isn't anymore, its entertainment, if the audience are entertained then nothing else matters.

2. I've seen sport team that intentionally lose the match to get revenge on their harsh coach, yes you heard me right, even in local football sports in my country there are games like this, some for revenge and some for other reasons apart for money.

It’s possible to happened but there’s no way confirm it unless you are part of the players who did it. Also this is only possible on lower league since player on higher league has a high pay grade which means they don’t have any luxury to play an intentional losses or else their career will jeopardize.

Lastly, do this is very childish because they can talk this properly like professional instead of sacrificing their team statistics for a mere issue that can be solve through proper communication and reasoning to establish their case.

I believe there is such thing and in football modern this possibility can be happend and few years ago i have heard a rumour that there was particular European teams from famous league who want to their manager out or sacked this because mostly the players has lost their respect to that manager and the players also really don't like the way the manager trains so initiatively those players has decide to performing poor and decide own loss and it works for them because after several loses the manager has been sack

If talking about the professionalism i think the players shouldn't do that because it will hurt the fans of those clubs besides that although money is not involved because the main reason those players did that because they want their manager out but i still considers this thing is similar just like match fixing this because those clubs has refuse to win with their own free will

they probably can but I'd assume they could get sanctioned or penalties if they are found out to be deliberately losing their matches. I'm sure the league or the club they are part of have rules against it so if they want to deliberately lose their matches they would need to do it discreetly.

They’re aware of it, but if there’s a strategic reason behind it that benefits the team in the future, I think it’s justifiable. As long as no one complains, it won’t be investigated, and the coach can disguise it as part of the game plan without the players knowing. After all, the coach is the captain of the game, the one who plans and sets the strategy that the team should follow.

If the players of the football team did not like their coach, they can do that to make coach fired from his job. They can perform bad so coach will get the complaint from all people especially their owner. The coach job will be difficult if he can not build a good relationship with all people in that team.

That is possible to happen with all teams that disappointed with their coach. But it is better they communicate to their coach and tell what they don't like from coach and vice versa. If they can solve the matters, I am sure that the coach will not get fired and the players can start to see the chance. That will be their internal matters which will not be publish. Public can guess the real problem without knowing the truth.

This is unusual but not entirely implausible. I've come across similar stories in articles, like the case that OP mentioned with the English football team, though these situations are hard to prove. If the players were unhappy with their coach and saw losing as a way to force management’s hand, it’s possible they might resort to such tactics. After all, players don’t always have direct control over administrative decisions like firing a coach, so influencing outcomes through performance could be seen as a desperate, albeit risky, strategy.

I think initiating a loss of free will without external pressure seems rare. Players have contracts, reputations, and future career opportunities to consider, and intentionally losing could backfire on them personally. However, in some cases, frustration or external circumstances, like internal politics or financial instability, might lead a team to behave in unusual ways.

I do not think that they will have to do that, all they can do is to request the team manager himself to change coach as he could be not a good fit for the team. The star player can do  that, ask the team manager for a meeting and discuss the situation.

It doesn't look good for a team to deliberately play and lost a game because for sure the fans are going to get mad at it. And we all know how "fanatics" are people supporting a football team so their image might be tarnished.

True, but if a team does decide to deliberately lose, it should be for a significant occasion where the loss leads to a bigger advantage in the long run. While it's not openly admitted and rarely seen on the surface, as speculators and gamblers, we can sometimes tell if a team isn’t playing to its full potential. That’s why it’s frustrating when our team loses to weaker opponents, and it makes you wonder if there’s a strategy behind it.

My answer: definitely yes. I watched investigative reports on fixed matches in eSports. There, small leagues, especially Russian and Chinese, are almost entirely bought by the mafia. And the scheme is always the same - the mafia bets on a team, after which they are ordered to lose. And that's it, that's how it really works. So many players don't want to develop their skills further because that's how they get money, and that's sad.

Yes, this always happens, not only in football, but in all sports, or even outside sports, and the first reason is always misunderstanding and internal problems of the team, and I mean here the problems between the players themselves and the problems between the players and the coaches. Every coach has a different way of working  as this may lead to divisions in the team, especially if the way the team is managed is not acceptable to some players
There are also management problems with the team.

 I do not think there is a league in the world in which there is no team suffering from these problems, and I think that all teams, no matter how big or small, have had the same situation before.

The answer is a yes even though this is not professional. Players can collude to sabotage the match so that a coach can be sacked. I have suspected that in the past in some major teams where some big players are not in good terms with their coach so they were losing consecutive matches until the coach was sacked and all of a sudden they started winning all their matches.  Furthermore, there is a popular rumor that teams do sell matches that they consider unimportant to opponents that need the points to either escape relegation of chase the title or maintain a position. Even though there have not been any evidence to support this, there is a possibility of it being true.

It's possible for them to do so yeah, but unless it was the last resort I definitely wouldn't want them to do that lol. Players, especially in sports like football always have a lifespan. I don't think spending a year (or maybe more realistically) to try to kick out their coach is worth it not to mention that it's also a blemish towards their sports resume.

Anyway in doing so they just really need the agreement of the players. After that, it's really just determining who's going to be the key players who are going to throw really, whether it be by fouling, missing goals and whatnot. I'd actually say that's a lot easier compared to match fixing.

For a team to lose deliberately to another team is a dumb thing to do. If they intend to set the coach up so that he will be sacked, then they can do it another way. The reason why I say the idea is dumb is because losing consistently is going to affect their stats and their value in the market table. I don't think any player would want such a bad record for himself. Also, eyes may be on them, since the new coach would want to change most of the players if the plan was executed without any failure.

One way they could set their coach to be sacked is by filing an appeal to the board of directors. I think players are allowed to do that. The board will take hid to their appeal and see to it. If there is a need to change the coach, then they will if they don't see any big deal then the appeal will be rejected. Still why plan for the coach to be sacked when there can be improvement?

It’s possible for them to do something like that and then get a new coach - but the issue now is this series of losses that they are going to incure won’t backfire at them? Like their team is always losing one match after another won’t it also affect the reputation of the team? Won’t people start looking down on them as a loser team?

And if one of them doesn’t agree with this strategy of theirs and decide to snitch on them don’t you think the whole team will be penalized for their action? Like I said before, it’s possible for them to do something like that but the risks involved are just too high.

yes, as many here have correctly pointed out, most likely the problem may be in the coach himself and the boycott of the internal affairs of the club itself. such a prtttest is no longer a novelty, here they have given enough examples of different clubs from different football leagues. But I also think that here it is not possible without additional income, it would be stupid to know the result of the event and not bet on it.

Yes, it's totally possible. Players can reduce their personal performance on purpose in protest towards something which is annoying them. I can't say if it is what really happened on the cases you mentioned above, because these are just theories, but what I can say is that such theories make total sense and can be applied in practice.

As we know, coaches don't last long when their teams accumulate consecutive losses and bad performances. Take the example of brazilian team Flamengo with their previous coach, Tite. Flamengo has the most expensive squad in Brazil, and it was playing poorly, losing important matches. The fans immediately got enraged and ordered his dismissal, and he is already out of the team. I'm not saying that players sabotaged the coach in this case, but I just mean how easy it is to get rid of a coach, especially if we are talking about a popular team, heavy on influence and status.

Yes, a sports team can do that. As a matte of fact there have been cases of that in the past. One of which happened in the Netherland during a lower league competitions. It happened in the 2017 -18 season. I can recall the name of the team but I remember that it was obvious they were playing to lose the competition having gotten to the finals. It was investigated and they faced the consequences for their action which was them being given some banned for play-offs and not getting promoted to a higher league. The rule of football or any sports is that you as a team must make every effort to win and when it is obvious you are doing the opposite, there is a penalty for that. Read the rules here - https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/about-the-laws/

Intentionally lose is actually illegal, a top tier league or competition will not allow that.

But, technically it's possible, just like when we were still young, we often cooperate with our friends to lie with our teachers or parents in order to going out or something like that. As long as there's no one admit or expose if we're working together in order to intentionally lose certain match, no one will know, they can only create a conspiracy.

Players can do that on any game, but I am pretty much sure it is illegal and might result in players getting banned or imposed with fines. Such unfair practice might even make their whole team get banned from all international competitive games. They are violating the rules of the games and most likely breaking their contract. They are getting paid to play well. So yeah, they should try their best. And think about their team standings. They will drop down a lot. And lets not forget about the fans that support them...
Just curious, if they aren't satisfied with their coach, why don't they just file an official complain and not play at all until the coach has been replaced? I am sure they cant fire a whole squad over a coach.

This topic reminds me of when I was still in secondary school, then there was a very wicked and strict woman sent to my school to do her 6 months education practice (teaching practice). The woman was very wicked and not friendly, she behaved as if the world revolves around her head.

So, we the students in the class she was handling planned on how we were going to deal with her and the plan we came up with was to play dumb on the day her supervisor will come to invigilate how she is performing in the practice.

As the day drew near, she started acting all friendly, pleading with us to make sure we respond to her while she's teaching us in the presence of her supervisor. She even gave told us all the question she was going to ask each of us that day and told us to memorize the answers. We agree.

Reaching that day of her supervision, her supervisor was right there in our class and she was confidentially teaching us, while the supervisor was given her some remark in his own record book. When it got to where she started asking us question, everyone pretended like we don't even know what she was talking about. Such action from us made her supervisor to think that she has not been teaching us very well and it caused her a lot of problems in her program.

In conclusion, what you are saying can actually be possible if there's an agreement among the players to do so. If one player tries to do that, he can quickly be replaced but if it's a general decision among the players, it can happen.

Could it be Manchester United he was referring to? Because it's clear only Manchester United has been performing poorly lately, of which many have been wishing Eric Ten Hag gets sacked for his inability to get a second win ever since Man-United gave Barnsley 7 goals to Nill and since then, it's been consistent lose or draw.

Yes, it's really possible for a club to deliberately loses a match if there is a financial offer more than what they are likely to gain if they win such game, and I'm sure this strategy can only be common in small leagues which is not financially buoyant to find the affairs of the club. Unlike big clubs such as Manchester City, United, Chelsea or Arsenal who valued reputation to petty financial profit.

Yes I believe in such events of a team loosing match one after another for their coach to be removed. But I don't see that as a wise decision. because some coach might be good but their actions makes them looks bad. some coaches just need enough time to bring the best in them and trust me they will do better. While a club is called a team is the unity and cooperation they have. If such cooperation is not there it is no longer a team. To cut the long story short, people can get the best from a worst person if well understood.

Yes, that can happen. Players in one of the local football club initiated a series of losses after not getting paid in time but since my country and local league is not popular, it was not a problem here but I believe that in the Premier League that can be a problem. To be fair, this is very interesting to discuss. If we follow logic, the football club should be punished if they lose deliberately because football is a very big business and behind clubs and players, there are millions of people and lots of bookmakers.

As a goalkeeper, it's easy to lose a certain game but overall, losses in a row affect every player's reputation. Once it gets revealed that players lose on purpose, clubs hesitate to buy them. If they become popular, then this will affect their career and will always be a black spot for them. Overall, every bad session lowers the price of the player.

Which one, Leeds United or Chelsea, Brian Clough or Mourinho? :D


Every athlete who plays in a professional competition must be professional, such things should not be allowed in modern football. Moreover, even if they have no intention or connection with the mafia, it would still be considered match fixing. So, the answer is it's not possible (IMO).

Anything is possible to happen provided the team player or most of the percentage of the players doesn't like the coach they can implement a strategy to remove the coach or the person who is standing as an obstacle.

But I think most times it depends on the reputation of the club, I mean this can be common with the junior or local clubs/team, I don't think professional club would try this silly play because everyone are being paid well so I don't see any reason why they would conspired against the coach in the club just for their self interest and gain..

Its possible, not only on football but also on other sports teams and individual sports, but they have to do it perfectly because sports spectators have discerning eyes and they easily spot errors, and mishaps that are done intentionally.
Since this is a team effort, it cannot be done by one man. its a team effort to fix the game, its easier for an individual like a boxer to fix a match, but for a team to do it perfectly, they need to rehearse or properly communicate to make it appear real, that they have no intention to fix the game.

Now a days, more than a team, the players think of their individual games. If they didn’t perform well in the matches, they will be replaced by other players. Also, if they didn’t play well, then their overall brand value also gets affected. Hence, at present, these types of gameplays are not possible where a team deliberately loses the game. I have also heard cases where team owners hint their own players to lose the game and the team owner places bets on the rival team to make money.

After reading the first story I actually thought about Manchester United and Ten Hag (coach) ever since a new season started no offense, let’s be honest. If what op wrote is accurate I strongly agree, seeing what some teams play it’s obvious they don’t represent their management in a proper manner. This reason is understandable with few point because not all team work with unity, it’s either the coach is the problem or the player but there’s a way the management can handle such situation.

Such a team picker will only hinder the progress of his own team,
after all, if it is a big team there will certainly be no such crazy practice and maybe for some players it may happen.

Playing poorly so that the team loses can happen for the sake of betting made off the field.
There are many soccer players who benefit from betting agreements that are made, provided that their team loses or does not produce any goals.

It is illegal and strictly prohibited, so anyone caught running the business will be given a warning or even dismissed from the club.

Sincerely speaking, since there is what we call friendly match definitely there will be what a team could consider not too important or even a lose to motivate the opposition team in some cases, and infact sometimes players or some coach get paid to get some match fixed, so what do we say about that one since this are cases of a clear agreement and some less active performance just to favor another team regardless.

Isn't it a match fixing if the team or players are deliberately showing poor performances?

One condition is that they are in a situation where they may lose a match and then this may eliminate another strong team out of the tournament, such tactics are often found in sports but that does not hurt the team deciding this to lose purposefully.

I am sure that at this time, especially players in the big European leagues, will not do that. The coach's performance is assessed by the club's management. If it is considered not good, of course, the coach will be replaced. If the player's performance also decreases intentionally, I am worried that it is also related to the sale of several players to bring in new players.

Maybe that situation could happen. But not for the current situation. Or the possibility that the club plays in a league that is not really in the spotlight. If it is possible for such an incident to be carried out by the club at this time, is United doing it?

yeah, sure but coaches couldn't make many excuses or say it is part of the plan if they kept losing. anyway, the thread says that coaches and match-fixing are out of the picture and all of the idea about deliberately losing the game/match are all on the players. so as I was saying in my previous post, they'll most likely get a penalty or sanctioned if they are found out to be deliberately losing the game/match by the club or league they are part of.

As far as I am concerned, at this juncture, it is safe to say that the Manchester United management are shooting themselves on their legs for still allowing Ten Hag to coach the club. From a distance, I was able to identify that the coach, while he may have other management skill, he lacks what I regard as the most important skill which is the management of the social quotient and the emotional intelligence of the players. He hasn't really proven to possess such skills hence causing the team to lose some of their best players at a time. I will always use the Cristiano Ronaldo unstable come back as an example. The guy is a great player of history but Ten Hag almost distablized his stay at the Manchester United even when he showed passion to work for the club and recreate the good past.

I remember the rumors very well of Chelsea team and Mourinho but, who’s better to tell what it actually was than a player whom was in on this plan and we all know what that could mean for the player’s career as well as, everyone else that could have been on this plan.

Let it be known that, football isn’t some sport you just play on the pitch and it’s ended. Investigations are done based on events observed on the field of play and into the player’s approach towards every game. If a foul play is observed, parties are always called in for questioning.

Though I would agree that these things do happen, it’s just rare and almost zero occurrences in top tier leagues.

I think it's also possible that the 1 or 2 players is/are going to poison the mind of the other players. As an innocent player, this is wrong and we must be strong to not get affected by it if we know that there is no problem with our coach because I think we will also notice or feel that on our own. We should only tell our coach about it and he will also let the higher council know about this to punish those players.

Do what? To initiate or do an intentional loss? But, I think they will also be blamed for this. So this must not be the best idea. If all agrees to dislike a coach, we can just confront the coach and tell other higher people in the club to replace them.

As a coach, yeah that it is important to have a good relationship but even as a player, we need this too. Despite having it, there might still be times that we will have a misunderstanding with each other, so it is important to calm down and don't do major actions yet because you might only regret it.

Public are not psychic to identify the problem on why the team performs like that, especially if there are no possible evidences that they can see but as you said, it seems better to keep an issue like that in private because that can mostly affect the club in a negative way, no matter if which side is correct and incorrect.

There hasn't been anywhere that it is written that self-loss is illegal whether in a top league or not. One thing I know is that it is an offense to the club and punishment will be made. The agreement that was made in the contract contains some irresponsible actions that are not needed in the company apart from the player's longevity in the club, and financial agreement. Some rules need to be kept as long as they remain in the club.

Any team that intentionally loses in a game will spoil its reputation. It's rare to see such in the top leagues.

Unfortunately, this is possible. For example, in my country, the local league has many cases of players who sabotage the team when they don't like the coach, and these cases reach a serious level where when a certain group of people wants to take over the club's management, they start to conspire with the players so that they lose on purpose and thus make the club's president resign and when a new club president comes in, the team starts to play well. This has been happening in my country's national team for many years. No coach has managed to last very long in my country's national team because they are always sabotaged by the players.

I don't think so, this may not have to happen as being a common scenario, but we cant be fully assured that it does not occur at all, which makes it more of a chances that such do happens but on a rare case, except if the team had an issue with the regulatory bodies or the authority in charge and treat each others fuck up, but aside that, i think a team should work more better on their own success than downfall.

That looks like a pretty textbook case of collusion and match rigging, which if it was ever shared publicly could result in some rather nasty fraud based criminal investigations - it doesn't feel like something that would be shared like some sort of victory. Maybe I could understand it in Russian teams that have less ethical restrictions but I'd start to wonder if one or two players are actually profiting off the losses rather than just trying to evict a coach. Even a single player could create unfavorable conditions for a team to win, but it becomes obvious at a certain point or at the very least they would be dropped for poor performance after a few terrible plays.

There have been times i have heard of players conspiracy and never know how true it is actually but it turns out that I'm coming across it in this post that its very possible players would intentionally loose a game so as to get their coach sacked probably because of the kind of relationship they have got, and its mostly in football i have heard and seen such and never in games such as other sports and so i think its not always a thing that actually works it could actually be in rare cases as coaches aren't sacked only on such base.

In a high profile sports that pay big money that's a pretty bold move to lose so you get a new coach or something along those lines.  You have to play terrible to lose and that puts your career in jeopardy, not to mention if you get caught doing this no team will end up picking you up knowing you will sabotage a team like that.  Maybe in the lower leagues that kind of stuff happens but I can't see it happening in the senior level leagues.

Players do crazy things sometimes. I have also heard about things like this before. players do gang up against the coach, they will end up performing poorly in matches, so the management won’t have  choice but to sack the coach and get a replacement for him. That’s why, as a coach, you are supposed to know how to interact with the players. If a coach starts having problems with players, then that’s just the beginning of the coach’s problem. Am even trying to remember the club that I heard that something like this happened to.
 
Sometimes when some players don’t really have interest in playing for a club again, they do end up performing poorly, so that the club will be able to let them go. That’s why sometimes you see a player performing poorly when he is in a team, but immediately he changes the club, his performance will improve.

  Enhhh... This is a weird one though, but I don't still feel a team would wanna play so bad and get relegated out of the league. Even if you'd wanna say they've got corrupt officials and administrators that get paid and then try to sweep everything under the carpet, the capacity of the team would still prevail. Whatever happens, they still have to pay top ups to every single player so they'd sluggishly play and lose.

Although, without concrete proves and evidences, I can say this is possible. People have different attitudes and, moreso a life outside the Internet that we dunno.. I think if a coach has a nonchalant attitude that isn't really helping the team, they can revolt against him.
Don't believe anything you see on the Internet.

This is basically retaliation from the players to their coach. Which happens not only on sports but everywhere like to an employee to it's own manager if not treated fairly. It's not right but these players has been left with no options to do these tactics to make sure that they'll be heard or make sure someone pay for their actions.
Obviously, these players will have to deal with they're actions just to make sure what they want will happen. But still, it's never right to do these tactics as they're only ruining themselves and other people as well.

I believe this to be true because I have always thought that some players intentionally play badly so that they can get their coach fired. The way top players were playing before the manager came always change. Manchester united is a club that I think the players are playing intentionally to get the coach fired because they're playing so badly right now that it seems like something is happening that we do not know. Some few games ago Bruno Fernandes got red card and it was not an offence that can not be avoided. He also missed penalty that he could have scored but throw it away. He gets red card easily and all this make me think, he is playing badly to make the manager to go because he does not like him. When players like the manager, they play very well to keep him at his job.

Such scenario is very possible to happen. If the team is in unity to achieve something, whether to throw their coach or ruin their reputation, they can. Because it is on their performance how they will do inside the field. However, such feat depends on how each team member agrees with the repercussions involve on this sacrifice. Some spectators can spot such performance, and with the current social media frenzy, it can create some viral comments/videos/discussions online. Their image will be questioned and who knows what it will do to their team? Remember, they are carrying certain brands so such agreements with their respective brands are also at stake.

You often hear about it in football because you're only in the football circle, in fact, political incidents involving athletes like what @OP mentioned often happen in other sports too. Poor relationships between athletes and managers are the main reason, and this should not be allowed in any sport. Unfortunately, this kind of thing does not fall under competition manipulation.

I think it is pretty possible for a team to start to underperform on purpose in order for them to show a signal of protest against their coach or the owner of the club, sure, however the situation would need to be very extreme for them to take such a decision and start to lose on purpose to catch the attention of the fans, attention from the press and even from bettors who would start to notice the losing patterns for them to pocket some money off the situation.

If this is a phenomenon which has previously happened, then it could happen again.
Another questions it would be how a tem doing such a form of protest could impact the betting markets, some bookies may take some preventive measures and not even open bets for that specific club/team anymore as long as their problems continue.

A goalkeeper can intentionally miss a goal, and other players can generally play below their abilities, but they still have to pretend to play hard. Many users have written here that when a team starts to intentionally play poorly, it can have a negative impact on the careers of the players on the team itself. This is partly true, but I still think that this is a big exaggeration. After all, for example, in order to lose a game, a goalkeeper does not need to miss a lot of goals. It is enough to miss 1-2 goals and often this is enough. I do not think that the statistics and career of the goalkeeper will suffer much from this. After all, he often misses 1-2 goals for "natural" reasons. And it can be very difficult to understand the reasons for which the goalkeeper missed goals without serious evidence.

I remember a TV comedy series about a football coach who beat his players after every game they lost.

https://youtu.be/-L2RnETHlT8?si=16MJJXPhVIA7-Lk9

In reality, of course, this cannot happen; a coach will not beat up athletes. However, a coach can take measures to prevent athletes from rebelling against him. Initially, a coach has a lot of authority and power, much more than all the members of a sports team. A coach who allows a situation where his players "rebel" is a very bad coach. Perhaps such people exist, of course, but it is difficult for me to imagine such a situation in practice. I would rather believe in a fixed match being organized with the complicity of a coach.

Yes they can.

But if they do they might be banned from participating in the events or in any event and people who initiated it will be banned forever due to unfair sportsmanship. Do you think anyone will risk their career just because they don't like their coach?

Also it happened in soccer if I am not wrong just because they wanted to have highest goal scored achievement they started doing same side goals and ended up losing their career.

They can start make a mistake in the field to show that they don't like their coach. Maybe they will also be blamed for this but they will not care about that because they only want to see their coach fired because he can't manage the team. Many people will also see what happen to the team but the rumors will say many things and makes their fan search for more info. We know that the fan can do many things about the truth so they will soon or later will know that the team doesn't like their coach.

But it is better to communicate with all people involve in teams so they can figure out what they should do. They can critic their coach to fix the thing that they don't like and vice versa. I am sure if they can discuss the problem and search for the way to solve that, everything will gonna clear.

Teams initiating their match match didn't start today. It's something that has existed for a long that players purposely do just to frustrate the coach's job and get him sacked by the club management.

The fact remains that for a club coach to stay long in a team, depends on the relationship he has with the team players. Treat and respect the opinions of the players accordingly, you have them secure your job for you. But as a coach who chooses to be hardened and brutal toward them, they will all plan to dish out poor performance that will call for your sack by the fans and management of the team. That's as simple as that.

It is possible and it is a form of protest or something else that they are trying to achieve.
I know one country that let themselves lose to their opponents in a regional tournament to avoid stronger opponents because the target was to qualify for the finals, that would be the most embarrassing thing, but losing on the orders of the coach and officials so that everyone is exposed and is no longer allowed to be involved in football and the most miserable are the players because they earn a living as footballers and have to lose their careers.

Let's say that losing by default is always difficult to prove, but it happens and quite often, in the case of basketball, they NBA, Magic Johnson said: "We lose because of the coach..." literally, the team was not playing well, and to top it off, he announced that he wanted to go to another team, then the pressure from the losses and the poor play was so much that the coach was fired.

Few years ago we had a topic here about low level league cricket teams cheating game results. Not only one team cheated and were losing games on purpose, but there were several teams in a league, where some players were even simple actors, and based on bets, they «corrected» their performance on the field. Just imagine the size of the cheat, not only one team, player or group of players lose on purpose, but whole league was a partial scam.

I think this is the story about this fake league https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-62123966

Yes, it is very possible and this explanation can be said to be true because we can judge from several incidents that have occurred before with poor performances and series of defeats that may seem unnatural.
If it is about football team, especially regarding players who do not like the coach and play several matches with poor performance, it often happens, players will play as they please and really look different from usual who play very well and comfortably.
I think there are several football teams that experience this and of course this will only provide two choices, first the team must replace the coach who is more appropriate and can adapt to the players or certain players who are not in line with the coach choose to leave the team.
Many answers can be found related to contexts like this, it is undeniable that the in understanding between players and coach can greatly affect the performance of football team.

It is very possible indeed, for a team to initiate some losses to achieve its goal, just as they can also fix matches that they can win so as to also achieve their goals.

There has been several instances like the tale by our OP and am sure that many players can resort to being stubborn just to frustrate the efforts of the coach/manager.

I used to enjoy the style of play by Mario Ballotelli, but when it comes to him being heady and arrogant, he can miss an open goal just because he has personal issues with the team mates or coach and that along with other instances can surely happen if the team players are united in their quest. 

Very possible, several cases have occurred in the world of soccer.
Example: 1

And example: 2


But you need to remember, if the team/player does an own goal on purpose, there is a risk that the team/player will be sanctioned (dismissal), this action is completely illegal, only for certain purposes.

In gambling it can also be done, because they dare to pay high prices to certain teams, so they create goals beyond reason and don't make sense.

You'll never hear an NBA player or commentator publicly admit that they lost on purpose. It's something we can only see or speculate about. So, to answer OP's question, it all comes down to our speculation since nothing can prove a team intentionally loses a game, even if it’s a coach’s decision to do so. They would never say it openly, as that would damage the team's reputation and the league itself.

Well, it's absolutely and very possible, this sort of things or stories you mentioned are not new to many of us who are fervent in sports and in reading news related to sports.

A team or a club, for what ever be their selfish reason can deliberately allow themselves to be beaten in a sports match. By now, it should already be known to all of us that winning the opponent in a sports games involves team work, this means that no one can do it alone, that is; win for his team or club. So, it is possible for the same team to agree within themselves to lose a match for what ever reason.

You are right, @Julien_Olynpic, the only way that poor performance can only be said to have or cause any harm to the career of the player is if bad record for so many failed matches due to their poor performance and it is not possible that a sport team would always want to lose in so many matches, it can only be on a very few match which they can even play very well but can just purposely make some common mistakes that will cause them to lose but no one else would even see the mistake as a fault from the player.

Of course, I think it is a very possible event in a sports team when all the players in one team do not like the rules in management or do not like their coach for some reason. It is also possible that without us knowing and without us realizing that there are several teams in several major leagues that do the same thing, meaning that there is a possibility that the decline in performance experienced by a team does not occur naturally but rather occurs intentionally with certain reasons and goals.

On the other hand, to be honest, I just found out about a scenario like this, but it is indeed quite reasonable to happen, and on the other hand, indirectly, of course, this can also be one of the learning materials for a coach or management not to make unilateral decisions, in the sense of being open to accepting all voices from the players, because of course it will be very detrimental to the club that has spent a lot of money to buy players but the team's performance is getting worse just because of such an incident.

At first I wanted to disagree with you but from your story and I compared it with political wizardry in which a political party withdraw from contesting because they don't like the candidate anymore in a day to the election so it is possible for a football team to play against themselves and lose the game. And that is why when football team mates are in good term they do well but if their are differences it also affects the Players in the field.
When the coach is friendly with them then they will also do their best.

It is possible if their is no mutual understanding between the coach and the players definitely such sinerio can apparently be possible, it takes to tangle and two can not or never work together except they agree, there is power in number, if the majority of the players happens to take side based on this regards, yes such thing can happen in order to disrupt or damage the career of the coach and possibly get him of the road, being a coach comes with lots of responsibilities which includes ensuring certain level of mutual understanding between him and the players. Personal, when a Player is not a good term with the coach it affects the player overall performance.

It could happen if your explanation is to go by but I do not think it will be so common. They are also playing with their reputation here. Some of the players may even disagree with doing so considering where they are in the points of their careers. This seems so childish to me though. Surely there are better ways to express their opinion about the coach. If the coach is bad, they probably would not need to initiate losses themselves as they will just lose for real due to lack of skills from the coach and trust from the players.

Yeah, exactly like what I mentioned above in my comment that winning in a football game is not a one man thing, the players have to play together in one accord and have exactly the same vision, which is to win that match, this will help them play better and even be more serious with their individual self  to see that their vision is accomplished.

And as for the coach, a good coach will know how to always be in good terms with his players, regardless of their different attitudes and so on, and this is because, he's performance as a coach is largely in the hands of his players, without the players doing well or when the players are not doing well in the field of play, the coach is always the person who take the blame.

So, such tendecies in players to want to play against themselves and lose a match can be avoid if a coach will know how to be good to his players, except on occasions where the their loss is one that has been arranged from the top, then it will as well be an agreement between the team as well..