Belgian league scandal: 18 professional clubs are being investigated for fraud

The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Vincent Van Peteghem, responsible for the fight against fraud, has stated that “there is an investigation into 18 professional clubs for tax fraud”. In the report, former soccer agent Dejan Veljkovic testified openly for the first time about fraud at clubs, sports directors, coaches and referees, according to the Belgian digital media VRT NWS.

Van Peteghem calls the statements in Veljkovic’s report “vindictive”, which recounted his version of events, but spoke of very specific amounts that were paid to well-known names such as Georges Leekens, Peter Maes, Ivan Leko and Herman Van Holsbeeck, the which deny any participation in the denounced events.

“This is a blow for football fans, but also for all those who pay religiously”, dice Van Peteghem. “The special tax inspection is an important factor in the investigation.”

Flemish Sports Minister Ben Weyts also talks about “a blow to the jaw for hundreds of thousands of flamenco fans and young athletes, whose work has been tainted by these high incomes”. Weyts is especially shocked by the involvement of the Football Association in Veljkovic’s testimony and calls for an “investigation of conscience”.

The question that the Belgian digital medium VRT NWS is asking, of course, is how dirty money can be controlled, sometimes paid in a bag of bread or in the form of gifts such as watches. Should clubs and players receive the tax benefits they now enjoy? Starting in January, professional players will pay a social security contribution of 15%, on all gross salaries above 2,474 euros. That’s already more than they currently pay, but “ordinary people” pay 38%. Additionally, clubs can still keep 75 percent of the withholding tax as of January.. “We have already taken a first step towards January,” says Van Peteghem, “but there is still a reform on the table to spend the money they receive from the government on the goals we set for ourselves.” In concrete terms, Van Peteghem wants more money to go to young people, to quarries. “Of the tax benefits that clubs receive, a large part now goes to the high salaries of the best players. The intention is that this tax advantage will be used mainly for youth and infrastructures. That seems to me a fair starting point and logical “says the deputy prime minister. That proposal will be put on the government table against budget control in March.

The reform that Van Peteghem will implement in January also limits the deductibility of brokerage fees for clubs. These commissions can only deduct the clubs from taxes as long as they do not exceed 3 percent of the gross salary of the players with which the intermediary managed to negotiate. This is criticized because that limitation can be easily circumvented by allowing players to pay their transfer commission. Van Peteghem acknowledges the problem. “Studies show that when players pay their intermediaries, their agents, the commissions also fall. But, of course, we will have to see how the intermediaries, the agents, act on the ground. If there are new excesses, of course the we will quickly suppress. “