Footballers receive "cash in hand”

There is a dark side to Faroese football, according to former national team goalkeeper Jens Martin Knudsen.

Half of most professional players’ salary does not go through the tax system.

This is revealed in Knudsen’s autobiography Maðurin við topphúgvuni (The man with the bobble hat) from 2012 in which he opens up about the role of tax evasion in Faroese football. 

And the keeper, who is currently assistant coach at premier league club NSÍ, insists that “cash in hand” and other financial tricks are still commonly used by football clubs.

Invisible sign-on fees

The latest trick used by cash-strapped clubs, he says, is sign-on fees which are not included in the clubs’ annual accounts.

“Even honest and decent people who take up a committee seat in a premier league must be prepared to take part in some shady business to keep the club’s finances afloat,” he says.

With 65 international appearances, Knudsen is the third most capped player for the national team. He became internationally famous in the 1990s for his penchant for wearing a white, woollen bobble hat during matches, earning him the nickname ‘the keeper with the bobble hat.

Translated by prosa.fo