FC Aarau was angry after missing a barrage: the Schaffhausen cheating scandal involving top scorer

But more than a year later, a shadow falls over the almost promotion: as it became known last week, Schaffhausen’s super clipper Joaquin Ardaiz (24) had played the entire 2021/22 preliminary round without a work permit – and ultimately scored seven 20 league goals , which made him top scorer and earned him a contract with FCL.

The claim that Schaffhausen would have missed the barrage without Ardaiz’s goals is anything but bold. Already towards the end of the season in question, when the FCS managed to qualify for the barrage in the heartbreaking long-distance duel against promoted Winterthur and Aarau, rumors circulated that the Uruguayan had been skating without official skaters for a long time. permission.

Sports director and president are fined

Eighteen months later, there is official confirmation of the fraud scandal: according to “Schaffhauser Nachrichten”, then FCS sports director Bernt Haas (now GC) and president Roland Klein were recently fined 2,000 and 1,500 francs respectively.

According to the criminal orders, Klein and Haas acted in a “negligent and negligent manner”. Although Ardaiz has previously played for Lugano, work permits for non-EU citizens are only valid cantonally.

In addition to the Ardaiz case, there is also the case of Augustin Gonzalez (26), who still plays for Schaffhausen today: the Uruguayan, who was signed in the summer of 2021, was used for one match before the work permit arrived.

Haas and Klein accept their fines – FC Schaffhausen as an employer is not prosecuted at all. There are also no sporting consequences because the Uru duo always had valid playing rights.

As GC stated upon request, Haas does not comment on the matter. FCS chairman Klein also makes no personal comments. The FCS as a club, on the other hand, points out to Blick that “In retrospect, Ardaiz scored and created his goals and match-winning scenes, especially in the second half of the season, long after he had a work permit for Schaffhausen. ”

Aarau lost the game against FCS by a small margin

Philipp Bonorand, former chairman of FC Aarau, does not want to remain silent. As a reminder: The people from Aarau, who were still at the helm with Bonorand at the time, only missed the barrage in 2022 due to the worse goal difference.

When I found out 16 months later that the top scorer of the promotion rivals played half a season without permission, Bonorand was angry: “The fact that something like that is possible irritates me terribly. And more than a year later the whole thing comes out, without consequences for the FC Schaffhausen club.”

The FCS takes note of Aarau’s accusation, but points out that the striker had long been licensed in the crazy 4:3 win against Aarau with four Ardaiz goals (!).

Bonorand is aware that nothing can be changed about the final table of that time. On the contrary, as a member of the competition committee, he demands that this kind of nonsense does not happen again: “The issue must be on the table in the Swiss football league; adjustments to the regulations are needed. It cannot be the case that players nowadays play without a valid work permit.” The absolute majority of clubs operate neatly, but the loopholes in the rules need to be closed.

The league does not check work permits

The Ardaiz case could actually cause a rethink in the league. “The SFL will investigate whether further control (e.g. residence permit or work permit) is appropriate and feasible,” the league said.

The current situation is that the SFL does not check whether the player has an official work permit before granting permission to play. The only decisive factors for approval are a valid employment contract and a green light in FIFA’s transfer system.

Therefore, Schaffhausen does not have to fear any punishment from the competition; the sporting legal requirements for the use of Ardaiz and Gonzalez were always there. But this is little consolation, especially for Aarau.