Football official earned corrupt votes (9)
I believe the answer is:
referenda
'votes' is the definition.
(referendum is a kind of vote)
'football official earned corrupt' is the wordplay.
'football official' becomes 'ref' (short for referee).
'corrupt' is an anagram indicator (a corrupted form).
'earned' anagrammed gives 'erenda'.
'ref'+'erenda'='REFERENDA'
(Other definitions for referenda that I've seen before include "mass votes" , "General votes" , "National ballots on specific issues" , "submissions to people" , "National votes or plebiscites (9)" .)