Ozzy Neav

This past January, the Russian television station Channel One held its annual tournament in Israel. The tournament, co-sponsored by Roman Abramovich’s own National Football Academy, is a yearly invitational compromised of teams from mostly Russia, Ukraine and Israel.

The main objective of the Channel One Cup is to promote youth development in the participating countries. In fact, the winning team must use half of the prize purse (One million dollars) to promote the youth football agenda.

The tournament, which was established in 2006, has grown in size and importance throughout Europe. National Football Academy President Yevgeny Pisarev claims that 20 European scouts were present this year and that the tournament is to be expanded geographically. Strangely enough, Brazilian side Cruzeiro has expressed interest in joining the festivities, but President Pisarev would not divulge information on the subject.

The 2008 participants were: CSKA and Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Kiev, Shakhtar Donetsk, Beitar Jerusalem and Red Star Belgrade, with Dynamo Kiev edging out their hated rivals from Donetsk in the final match which they won 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Donetsk midfielder Fernando Luiz Rosa was the leading scorer and tournament’s MVP.

On the surface, the Channel One Cup is filled with families, blue skies and picnic baskets. A quick look under the surface however, reveals the tournament’s true nature; a safe house for the biggest and most powerful crime syndicate in the world.

A quick look at this “prestigious” group of club owners reveals many unsavory characters. CSKA Moscow, though not owned by Chelsea kingpin Roman Abramovich receives influxes of financial aid from Abramovich’s former (and some say still) natural gas company Sibneft. Ironically, the word “neft” means oil in Russian as well as in Hebrew. This connection must be cultural because the former is a Slavic language while the latter is Aramaic and therefore the two should have very little in common. But they do, in more than just words.

Another Russian-Jewish oligarch is Beitar Jerusalem owner Arkady Gaydamak. Gaydamak is a suspected arms dealer who is wanted by French police authorities on several counts, including but not limited to, extortion, bribery and tax evasion. Gaydamak’s ownership of Beitar serves as a smoke screen for his true intent. He desires political office in order to avoid deportation to France, where he would probably face a prison sentence. Under Israeli law, a politician cannot be deported to another country for any reason or accusation. Gaydamak is the head of a new political party called Social Justice, which is funded directly out of his own pocket.

Spartak Moscow’s owner Leonid Fedun is no boy scout either. A regular on the Forbes 200 richest people in the world list, Fedun is the vice-President of Lukoil, the second largest privately owned reserve of natural gas in the world. Lukoil has been accused in the past of dealing with cartels in conducting shady business both inside Russia and internationally. Tax evasion is again at the top of the list, with Russian economists speculating that Lukoil has hidden billions of dollars in unclaimed revenue.

Things go from bad to evil when we examine the Ukraine bosses. Shakhtar Donetsk owner Rinat Leonidovich Akhmetov is rumoured to be the head of a major organised crime entity. One Ukraine government minister has publicly called him a mob boss. Akhmetov owns SCM Holdings which possess a diverse portfolio including financial institutions, mining operations and telecommunications. He is rumored to be worth over ten billion dollars in total assets.

Konstantin Grigorishin is affiliated with Dynamo Kiev and while his dealings are shrouded in mystery, he has allegedly been involved in violent crime. He is also one of the brains behind Ukraine’s biggest energy scandal.

The above list of saints has quietly been increasing their monetary and political ties with Israel over the last several years. What is the logic behind these cloak and dagger tactics you ask? There are only two countries that do not have an official or unofficial extradition treaty with Russia. These countries are England, and, of course, Israel. Abramovich and Gaydamak’s son in England (Alexandre Gaydamak owns Portsmouth) and the Channel One Cup in Israel, seem to be just in case the situation goes sour for the rest.

As far as Gaydamak is concerned, even if ascension into politics proves unsuccessful, the blind faith he receives from Beitar Jerusalem supporters would deter the Israeli government from turning him over to French authorities.

This is a sad and unfortunate situation in which the barons of football are using the beautiful game to hide their lack of morality. In many countries around the world, football is used as a conduct for nocturnal and devious operations. Clubs in Italy, Columbia, Argentina, Russia and now Israel are benefiting from the misfortune of the weak. Don’t believe me? The next time your team signs a mega star for mega money, ask yourself: How many have lost their lives, or their livelihood in some distant part of the globe to fund your football team?