Bolivian TV network El Deportivo TV have published a second document which they say confirms potential Arsenal signing Samuel Galindo is an ‘age cheat’. The article in question is a form Samuel filled out before going on trial with San Jose de Oruro in 2006, which he gave the birth date of 18 April 1989, making him now 20-years-old. He then signed the paper, which you can see a scanned image of Here.
He also lists details such as height, weight and previous clubs. Interestingly, he notes that in the year 2005 he played for the Florida ‘B’ or Reserve team. Under the birth date he currently operates under (18 April 1992) this would mean that he was 12-years-old when he played for this side. This, coupled with El Deportivo’s passport picture, adds to up damning evidence that Samuel is operating under a fake age.
Deportivo have promised to unearth more details in the coming days to further confirm their suspicions. This arose after Galindo was registered by the Bolivan Football Association as an Under 17 player for a tournament in South America in May. Deportivo say they are taking the action of publicising this to not to harm the player, but to shame the members of the BFA who have misled the football community in what they call a ‘disease’ which is spreading through Bolivian football.
Gooner Talk blogger Gooner Chris contacted Galindo via the social networking site Facebook and asked about the allegations, where he told the writer unofficially that it was something “that he didn’t need to talk about at the moment.”
Samuel’s move to Arsenal may now well be in doubt, as he is yet to put pen-to-paper on the forms.
Article By – J.Sanderson With Thanks To Joseph
hmmm…this is a really unfortunate situation. It looks quite bad for him, but one has to wonder if these age discrepancies were coerced upon him by coaches/managers/agents. It’s hard to believe this is something he came up with on his own, but only time and more details will tell.
It will be difficult to sign him now, I know a lot of players especially from Africa do this but it is not in the open like this, Arsenal will not want any controversy so I think this deal is off unless it can be proved beyond doubt that he is not lying and I am not sure that will happen! Bye bye Samuel, hope we get another good one.
Wow this is turning into some nasty shit. poor boy thou,he’s been entangled in the bolivian football association politics.I hope he still signs 4 us thou
http://twitter.com/johncrossmirror
he says all documents in order. he is 17!!!
Its interesting that a Bolivian tv channel is trying to destroy Galindo future. It must be really tough on the boy
fucking cheat, dont sign him. we got better players then a soon to be 21 yr old.
They could easily of faked them… good luck to you Samuel Galindo
I don’t feel sorry for him. If I was in the position he was in, I would not have entered that youth tournament. I know I wouldn`t have. He would have been old enough to decide for himself. He must have known he was playing against boys who were younger than he was. He may be a cheat, but he isn`t that stupid. I am glad this is coming to light now. Especially since we would have had to pay a fee for him as well as his wages. There are powerful influences in life that a lot of people have to deal with including family, but unless he wasn`t taught that cheating is bad, I don`t feel sorry for him. You have to be your own person with your own morals, values and integrity. You shouldn`t listen to a coach, your parents or anybody when it comes to this. Even if there is the excuse that other young boys get away with it. It`s not an excuse. Now hopefully we can move on to look for other promising young talents. If he truly has cheated, I hope ta god Wenger doesn`t sign him. I would be very surprised and extremely disappointed in him if he does in fact sign him.
People are talking about him like he was a 14 yr old pressurised into doing something, hes a grown man 20 going on 21 ffs, what sort of bellend does that.
Galindo has had the chance to come out and offer his ‘real’ passport which would destroy all of this. However, he has not done so, he has decided to keep quiet. It’s really suspicious of him. They also say that have much more evidence which will come out in due time.
John Cross is a good journalist, but he offers no proof to prove this isn’t true either. I’d like to see what he says now this has been published.
Jamie mate, I have it on pretty decent authority that he is 17. The ‘evidence’ though seems convincing so its anyones guess. This is all very strange though, its the sort of thing that will always hang over him from now on.
well…lets keep this simple..if he is 20..nomatter who’s fault it may be…we should not sign him..
Arsene Wenger has judged him solely on his ability and potential.Who of us can say if the details are true or not. Why people on this page are swearing and getting hot and bothered is amazing. Make a statement point them in the right direction and they are ready to go to war!
Well I just don`t think we should sign someone who cheats like this. I still want to wait until he says something, and until the club release something too. But I don`t think we should sign him if he has cheated and it is proven that he has done so.
if you look at the passport, the picture seems to be taken from after a match of something. also you have to be facing HEAD-ON in passport pictures. this makes me think that these documents are forgeries
Just give the dude the damn MRI wrist scan test. If he is a cheater then dont sign him. Not that difficult. Also I dont like everyone babying teenagers. Once you are 15 or older, you are old enough to know right and wrong. If he is 20 years old then he is a grown man. In America we have 18 year olds in the Army so at 20 you are a man not a boy.
It’s easy for people to sit in their comfy Western lifes and condemn someone for a rumour when regardless of whether it’s true or not they have no idea about the background.
Whilst things in Bolivia have improved under Morales it’s still a country with extreme poverty, especially amongst members of the indigenous Quechua speakers (of which I believe this kid is one).
Assuming it’s true (and we don’t know) then do you really feel comfortable saying you wouldn’t possibly have lied yourself if it gave you the chance to escape a life of poverty and violence (marshall law is all to common in Bolivia as are Warlord led gangs) and get something better for you and yours?
People are far too quick to judge and condemn.
EiN – we’re still waiting for more information on the subject. It is still a rumour at the moment, we’re waiting for more solid info before we can really say.
Onto your other point – I think any form of success is not right if it’s achieved through deception.
Okay so Wenger has captured a 6 foot 2 playmaker who is 20 and captains the Bolivian U20 team.
He’s still on a high level of achievement for his age. Besides he is 5 inches taller, 3 yrs younger, and far more skilled than James Milner, who just a couple months ago, was a 23 yr old player for the England….U21’team. And Milner is currenly a starter at playmaker for a top-five premiership team!
So what’s the
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J – do a bit of research into the troubles in Bolivia and tell me if you had the chance to do what is being claimed you wouldn’t take a chance and do the same.
Like I said Morales has at least tried to make a fairer country but frankly a lot of Bolivia is bandit country with civil unrest common. I’d lie about my age (mind you I’d have to be some damn liar to pass for a youth tournament!) to get a chance of getting out of there and have a chance of a life in the West.
Sometimes we forget quite how desperate a lot of the world really is.
You think a club as studious and scrupulous as Arsenal, that brings over loads of young talent would be hoodwinked by some forged papers? We’ve followed this boy for a few years I’m sure and would have sorted out any such disrepencies before.
Besides,there is a very simple scan that is done to the wrist that will determine the age 100% The test is done by an MRI scanner that detects the bone formation in the wrists…its done is most big clubs nowadays.
Frankly speaking, who care about the age.
The key thing is his performance when putting on our jersey.
20 years old is definitely more mature and better for Arsenal.
Sure, but I guess it comes down to your mindset and your morals on wehther you would do it, but that’s a whole different matter. It seems to me like this is something that maybe the people at the BFA cooked up rather than the player himself, but we’ll see.
The truth is that none of us are in full possession of all the facts, but Arsenal are very thorough and will check all the relevant paperwork before finalising a contract. Why not wait for the full facts to emerge rather than jump on him and accuse him of being a cheat? Perhaps some of you have not heard of the concept of natural justice in which people are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are given an opportunity to defend themselves before being condemned. He’s hardly going to open up to some random person on a social networking site and has probably been advised to say nothing as there may well be legal action going on in the background.
why would he lie about his age and play with kids when he’s good enough to win full caps with his national team.
why would he deliberately slow down his progress?
So is this any different to our very own CEDRIC EVINA who is also playing under a false age. The sun were going to write a story on him three years ago and even sent reporters over to Africa to try and locate his original birth certificate as well as players such as Vieira and Kanu but couldn’t locate any 100% proof although anyone in the know, knows the truth.
Ein…I am sorry that there are alot of bad places in the world but if everyone started lying, cheating, stealing, commiting crimes, how would that help the world. People are dealt different cards in life. Does this meen every person in Bolivia should do this? A person in the ghettos should sell dope? A person from a poor neighborhood in Brazil should start kidknapping people for ransom? Where do you draw the line? If everyone does what ever they can even if it is wrong, then this world is in trouble.
Also dont judge people on here that have comments because you dont know what everyone on here has gone through in their individual lives to get to where they are now.
O.Holt…Everyone should just take mri scans from now on as soon as they are under a pro club or a youth international.
maybe someone’s not happy with the deal……
17 or 20 years old, still someone could offer more money for him in the summer
When we sign a 17 year old, we do so in the hope that by the time he is 20 he will be a much better player than he is at that time. So this new information is kind of like signing a 17 year old (which is how old we thought he was when we trialled him) and knowing that he won’t develop at all until he is 20. An average 20 year old might be considered a hot prospect if he was thought to be 17. So I would be very, very surprised if we ended up signing this guy. Good news for Zezinho, I guess.
Unless the situation can be clarified without doubt Arsenal should not and will not get involved. One things for sure he knows how old he is so we don`t need bone scans. So, if he played in youth teams fully aware he was too old then he can`t be trusted.
Lets just hope he is seventeen.
Or perhaps Geezy is how old he claims.
This obviously throws his move into huge doubt.
At almost 21, he’d be considered a fully fledged signing and not a teenager, lol.
Maybe Sol cooked his birth certificate to get resigned?
or Galindo has produced his documents (his real passport) to Arsenal.
He would have undergone all kinds of tests which would flagged up in a medical.
Like John Cross says, the documents are in order and he is 17.
Why the hell should he go flashing his documents to every man and his dog?
Matt calm down…All he should do is take the mri wrist scan or if he has then confirm it. Really not that hard.
Cheating on his age? Back here in Africa that’s not strange. For example most Kenyans don’t believe that Obi Mikel, Essien, Kanu Nwanko, Kolo Toure etc are the age they claim to be. Neither can we vouch for the so called under 20s that won the under 20 world cup for Ghana. It’s a disease here where people will cheat to get a ticket out of poverty. In the final analysis it hurts the game. Rather than develop a proper youth system they cheat. No wonder Africa usually under performs at senior level. Given the level of poverty in Bolivia I wouldn’t be surprised if they were cheating. So for Galindo it should not be a matter of his age. The question is “Is he good enough for Arsenal?” In all this remember Obafemi Martins. Inter Milan thought he was a real prospect when he claimed to be 17. We didn’t believe him then and he never rose to become the world leader Inter imagined. I’d propose that Fifa made age test mandatory. It’s best for the future of the game!
Lol at Bolivian TV news… Look at this, pertaining to the Air France crash last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MPOJSsggjs
Yeah, But Obafemi is good, though looks older.
I pretty sure that Arsenal will investigate these alleged birth certificate claims, and then make up there minds when they have all the facts in front of them IMO.
MANTAP…
Honestly, this is shit. What is age, the guy is quality and would guess that guyz want to spoil things for arsenal. Sammy will eventually come out cleam. I wonder, why would journalist keep pestering a guy who is trying to build a career. He is a footballer, you are’nt, why bother him?
Well age cheat or not let us wait till when confirm the throught…we cnt just be talking like and condemn him like that…its just rumour for now…alot of player out there are not using their real age like Rooney, John terry, Mikel obi, Adebayor, Essien, Gallas, Toure, Kanu, C Ronaldo, Song, Tevez…etc
Wow, shane equating lying about your age to drug dealing and kidnapping. This blog has lost all common sense
We all know that 90percent of players are age cheat wenger pls sign him if he ir good becouse 20yr is a good age
Ha Don why do you think rooney, terry, ronaldo, song or tevez are age cheats?
“Arsenal new boy Samuel Galindo has been caught up in an elaborate spoof, when a Bolivian TV station claimed it had a copy of his passport stating he was 20 years old and not 17 as was said when the midfielder joined the Gunners. (Daily Mirror)”
Did anyone see this article?
As kenyan gooner said, Most African and South American players lie about their ages. Essien, Drogba,Kolo, Kanu (who is RUMOURED to be 41).Ronaldinho and many others do lie, does some one remember Djemba Djemba (Man-U)?
I don’t support cheats but its a disease that has attacked our sport. Football is a short carrier of at most 15 years at top level for most players, of which most African and South American players take a longer route in order to make a name.
For example, in Africa, most players will go through the South African league, then League 1,by this time they are in their mid 20’s or late,by the time a top club signs one he is remaining with at most 4 or 5 years.
Bottom line is, IF Galindo has lied about his age,he should own up.
Brian….Ronaldinho? Dont just say random names.
Shane, yes Ronaldinho.
Andy…The point was…someone asked J if he would have done the same thing and that this guy did it to get out of poverty stricken Bolivia…so my question simply was where do you draw the line on what is ok to do to escape difficult situations. By the way Age cheaters take away oppurtunities from players that are working hard and doing it the right way.
it seems all is ok!!!
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Arsenal-star-caught-up-in-passport-hoax-article293447.html
JS are you becoming a tabloid hack?
This story is a load of shite, please drop it.Or if you have to publish it at least discredit the evidence!! The passport was so fake, and it would not surprise me if this document was also faked!
Ok, I may not have all the evidence yet but I can assure you that THIS IS A HOAX!!!! Stay tuned for more but this is not true and the boy will sign for us, wonder why the hatred for this boy! I also bought into it initially and I am sorry to have been misled until I tried to check it out properly.
Shane – I really don’t see how anyone can equate things like kidnapping with lying about your age to get ahead in a game. Hyperbole in the extreme and quite ridiculous.
At the end of the day football is only a game, but it’s also one of the richest businesses in the world and one of the best ways out of poverty.
Let’s go the other way – virtually everyone lies to some extent or another on CV’s or in job interviews (believe me after 20+ years of employing people it’s the norm not the exception) to try and get on – is that really any different?
Finally, everyone is jumping on this from one source but how reliable is that source? Does anyone actually know their status and past record on investigative journalism?
Not sure about this one. I’ve just checked out the Bolivian press, no mention of it at all. I can find no reference to El Deportivo TV as a Bolivian TV channel on the web anywhere and only one Bolivian source for the story http://www.fmbolivia.com.bo. Now if this story had broken on Saturday night in Bolivia as the rumour claims there would at least be some reference to it in the Bolivian press surely. This is how internet rumours start :-)
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Gooner Chris sucks more dick than a lady of the night. He FB’d Galindo hahaha. What a prize plum
Here’s my 2c, Age in this case does matter to AW.. look at the signing from cardiff, if I would have picked anyone from that team it would have been Joe Ledley, but AW saw the potential in a slightly younger rambo to be a better player in the future. Now if AW continues to sign Galindo based upon his ability then well and good, but if this is considered a hinderence to achieving world-class potential then send him packing.
Who cares? If he’s good and Wenger thought he could cut it then sign him up. 20 is hardly over the hill.
Plenty of African players do it. Obafemi Martins was 18 when he played for Inter, apparently…
I don’t know how anyone can believe Rooney and Terry (two guys who are born and bred in this country) can be age cheats. That’s a joke right?
You say he aint signed a contract yet but Wenger has already talked bout him goin on loan and he doesn’t talk bout players until he has already properly signed them…
Man i’ll admit I was really lead around by the nose on this one. I feel like an idiot. I’ve never really seen Arsenal involved in something like this before. Kanu doesn’t really count. Yeah whoever said innocent until proven guilty was 100% right!!
I read somewhere that Galindo has produced a passport and that Arsenal have said that they have confirmed that it is valid and will sign the player
as soon as he can cap for his National team 70% for 2 years, he’ll be re-evaluated and we’ll see where he stacks up. Age cheating is so prevelant in South and Centratral America, not to mention the Carabean, that it is rampant. In the USA, no one believes the age of any baseball players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuella or Puerto Rico… They just lie, and that is the norm. They are looking for Longer contracts because they don’t get the exposure at the collegiate level. Different model than in European achademies… We deal with it, so should Arsenal. His size, and vision is impressive. But at ~~~21 – he should be better, No? I say loan him to Racing when we get Canallis and see what he can do. he will be a giant in Argentina, among tactically talented smaller guys…let’s see what he’s got. The cost is no problem. The upside could be biger than you might think. Go Gunners, top of the table!
I don’t believe any of this JS. Nice work all the same. The kid trained with their under 15’s not long back. http://www.facetasdeportivastv.com/nota.php?id=7990 (needs translating)
What does it remind you off??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrmf1leY0zA
Yes lying about your age is as bad as kidnapping someone. Nice perspective mate. Maybe it’s time you grow up and leave your high school morality in your book bag
well the question we ask our selves is everything official about the age cheat ? I don’t think arsene will sign him, because he has so many players in galindo’s age witing for a chance like Merida, eastmond, coquelin, Lansburry etc. Plus,its dis repectful what hppened to a club in the size of Arsenal, i dont think they would accept this ! but if the lad is a really reallyspecial talent, i would say go for it Boss !
The people who keep talking about how Galindo is a cheat, has no morals and is old enough to know right from wrong, have most certainly not lived in a third world courntry which offers nothing but a kick on the back side for those who aren’t willing to do almost anything for their future. From what i know, players are signed solely for their talent. I bet all of you who don’t want him signed at Arsenal will regret it WHEN he becomes a world class player.
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