One of the key premises of the official sport integrity narrative is that a high perception of corruption and manipulation of competitions by fans triggers a loss of interest that leads to disinterest in sport and the consequent cultural and financial collapse of the sector. With evidence gathered though a massive representative survey carried out in Portugal, the article analyses the correlation between fans’ corruption in football perception and their interest in the game. We claim that the sport integrity narrative premise is wrong and perception of corruption and deviant behaviour in football do not affect the interest that supporters’ have in the game. While football is considered a corrupted industry, the interest of fans remains unalterable despite their gender, ideology, political preference, age, or place of residence. In the end, the article discusses the implication of the findings for the sport integrity policy-making process.

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Football,corruption,tolerance,Portugal,interest,Perceptions