Post by Macmoish on Mar 23, 2011 6:56:44 GMT
Step One: Anyone found guilty of Match Fixing, banned for life.
And ban players from betting on football
Just for starters
TELEGRAPH
Fifa fears match-fixing in international football may already have reached epidemic proportions
Fifa officials investigating alleged match-fixing in recent friendly internationals held in Bahrain and Antalya, Turkey, believe the games may be “the tip of an iceberg” of corruption, sources close to the inquiry have told Telegraph Sport.
Fifa fear match-fixing in international football may already have reached epidemic proportions
Investigators are working with Interpol and the Finnish police, who have arrested one of the match organisers, to establish the circumstances behind the three suspicious matches, which they believe may have been targeted by match-fixers.
Fifa is examining two matches played in Antalya in February, and has opened an investigation into the possibility that the games were fixed.
The two games, between Latvia and Bolivia and Estonia and Bulgaria, were played back-to-back in the Mardan Stadium in Antalya, and all seven goals in the two matches were penalties. Investigators are looking into the total number of goals that may have been manipulated for betting purposes.
There is no suggestion that the teams were complicit in the alleged fixing, but the six match officials involved, three from Bosnia and three from Hungary, are now the subject of a Fifa disciplinary investigation.
Fifa and the European criminal authorities are now examining whether there are links between a game involving a “fake” Togo team in Bahrain and the two Antalya matches.
Related Articles
The matches were arranged by two separate agents based in the Far East, who apparently approached the national associations and offered payments of at least €30,000 to take part.
“Fifa has been liaising with Interpol and the Finnish police and looking at suggestions that all these games may be linked. This is the tip of an iceberg,” said a source with knowledge of the investigation.
Uefa president Michel Platini, speaking at the Uefa Congress on Tuesday, identified gambling-related corruption as a “major threat” to the game and called on national governments and criminal agencies to assist in tackling it.
The matches under investigation illustrate why. They raise the possibility that rather than targeting existing fixtures, fixers are arranging internationals themselves, recruiting unwitting national teams in order to profit from gambling.
The Togo-Bahrain game was organised by Wilson Raj Perumal, a Singapore businessman who has been implicated in match-fixing allegations involving Zimbabwe.
Perumal was arrested in Finland last month on suspicion of paying bribes to players to try and manipulate matches in the Finnish leagues. He is currently being held in custody.
In a statement the National Bureau of Investigation said he had been arrested with false identification papers on Feb 25. He is suspected of “paying players to fix match results”, it said.
Ten matches are under investigation and six players, all Zambian, have been detained in the last week.
Finnish FA managing director Kimmo Lipponen said the conspiracy may extend beyond Finland: “The teams have not made any agreements between themselves.
"Instead, there are large-scale global criminal operators lurking in the wings. We are talking about a very big and serious matter here.”
Fifa’s head of security, former Interpol executive Chris Eaton, is liaising with the Finnish authorities and Interpol to inform his investigation into the Antalya matches.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said Fifa is examining suggestions that Perumal had links with the Far Eastern-based agent behind the Turkish games.
The Antalya matches were organised by another Singapore businessman Anthony Raj Santia, via his agency Footy Sport International. It has not been possible to trace Santia for a comment.
Janis Mezeckis, the general secretary of the Latvian Football Federation, confirmed on Tuesday that Santia handled the arrangements for their match, recruited the match officials and coordinated arrangements in Antalya.
Mezeckis on Tuesday gave an insight into the way the suspicious matches were arranged, and revealed for the first time that his association had significant concerns about the way the match was handled.
Latvia won the game 2-1, with their first goal coming from a retaken penalty after the first attempt was missed. Mezeckis ordered his staff to document events in Antalya with photographs, video and notes, and he has sent all the information to Fifa.
“We were approached by this agent from Singapore, who told us that they were keen to break into the European market. He gave us a prepayment of €30,000 and came to Riga to discuss all the organisation with us,” Mezeckis said.
“There was no TV deal or sponsorship associated with the game so we did wonder where they would make their money. But he said they wanted to establish themselves and it was an investment.”
Mezeckis said he grew concerned when Santia was unable to confirm the match officials would be from Fifa’s approved list.
“He told me the officials were from the Czech Republic but when I checked with my colleagues there they said there was no agreement for them to officiate.
"When I arrived in Turkey he could not tell me the officials names until one hour before kick-off, and then said they were from Hungary and gave me their names.
"When I visited the referees’ room the officials said they were from Croatia. Now it turns out they are from Bosnia.”
Mezeckis said the first penalty, given for a push on Kaspars Gorkss, was “strange”, and that the assistant referee ordered it to be retaken after it was missed.
He added: “The third goal, Bolivia’s penalty, was also strange. But the really strange game was Estonia - Bulgaria, a 2-2 draw and all the goals from penalties. This is very unusual.”
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8399349/Fifa-fears-match-fixing-in-international-football-may-already-have-reached-epidemic-proportions.html
And ban players from betting on football
Just for starters
TELEGRAPH
Fifa fears match-fixing in international football may already have reached epidemic proportions
Fifa officials investigating alleged match-fixing in recent friendly internationals held in Bahrain and Antalya, Turkey, believe the games may be “the tip of an iceberg” of corruption, sources close to the inquiry have told Telegraph Sport.
Fifa fear match-fixing in international football may already have reached epidemic proportions
Investigators are working with Interpol and the Finnish police, who have arrested one of the match organisers, to establish the circumstances behind the three suspicious matches, which they believe may have been targeted by match-fixers.
Fifa is examining two matches played in Antalya in February, and has opened an investigation into the possibility that the games were fixed.
The two games, between Latvia and Bolivia and Estonia and Bulgaria, were played back-to-back in the Mardan Stadium in Antalya, and all seven goals in the two matches were penalties. Investigators are looking into the total number of goals that may have been manipulated for betting purposes.
There is no suggestion that the teams were complicit in the alleged fixing, but the six match officials involved, three from Bosnia and three from Hungary, are now the subject of a Fifa disciplinary investigation.
Fifa and the European criminal authorities are now examining whether there are links between a game involving a “fake” Togo team in Bahrain and the two Antalya matches.
Related Articles
The matches were arranged by two separate agents based in the Far East, who apparently approached the national associations and offered payments of at least €30,000 to take part.
“Fifa has been liaising with Interpol and the Finnish police and looking at suggestions that all these games may be linked. This is the tip of an iceberg,” said a source with knowledge of the investigation.
Uefa president Michel Platini, speaking at the Uefa Congress on Tuesday, identified gambling-related corruption as a “major threat” to the game and called on national governments and criminal agencies to assist in tackling it.
The matches under investigation illustrate why. They raise the possibility that rather than targeting existing fixtures, fixers are arranging internationals themselves, recruiting unwitting national teams in order to profit from gambling.
The Togo-Bahrain game was organised by Wilson Raj Perumal, a Singapore businessman who has been implicated in match-fixing allegations involving Zimbabwe.
Perumal was arrested in Finland last month on suspicion of paying bribes to players to try and manipulate matches in the Finnish leagues. He is currently being held in custody.
In a statement the National Bureau of Investigation said he had been arrested with false identification papers on Feb 25. He is suspected of “paying players to fix match results”, it said.
Ten matches are under investigation and six players, all Zambian, have been detained in the last week.
Finnish FA managing director Kimmo Lipponen said the conspiracy may extend beyond Finland: “The teams have not made any agreements between themselves.
"Instead, there are large-scale global criminal operators lurking in the wings. We are talking about a very big and serious matter here.”
Fifa’s head of security, former Interpol executive Chris Eaton, is liaising with the Finnish authorities and Interpol to inform his investigation into the Antalya matches.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said Fifa is examining suggestions that Perumal had links with the Far Eastern-based agent behind the Turkish games.
The Antalya matches were organised by another Singapore businessman Anthony Raj Santia, via his agency Footy Sport International. It has not been possible to trace Santia for a comment.
Janis Mezeckis, the general secretary of the Latvian Football Federation, confirmed on Tuesday that Santia handled the arrangements for their match, recruited the match officials and coordinated arrangements in Antalya.
Mezeckis on Tuesday gave an insight into the way the suspicious matches were arranged, and revealed for the first time that his association had significant concerns about the way the match was handled.
Latvia won the game 2-1, with their first goal coming from a retaken penalty after the first attempt was missed. Mezeckis ordered his staff to document events in Antalya with photographs, video and notes, and he has sent all the information to Fifa.
“We were approached by this agent from Singapore, who told us that they were keen to break into the European market. He gave us a prepayment of €30,000 and came to Riga to discuss all the organisation with us,” Mezeckis said.
“There was no TV deal or sponsorship associated with the game so we did wonder where they would make their money. But he said they wanted to establish themselves and it was an investment.”
Mezeckis said he grew concerned when Santia was unable to confirm the match officials would be from Fifa’s approved list.
“He told me the officials were from the Czech Republic but when I checked with my colleagues there they said there was no agreement for them to officiate.
"When I arrived in Turkey he could not tell me the officials names until one hour before kick-off, and then said they were from Hungary and gave me their names.
"When I visited the referees’ room the officials said they were from Croatia. Now it turns out they are from Bosnia.”
Mezeckis said the first penalty, given for a push on Kaspars Gorkss, was “strange”, and that the assistant referee ordered it to be retaken after it was missed.
He added: “The third goal, Bolivia’s penalty, was also strange. But the really strange game was Estonia - Bulgaria, a 2-2 draw and all the goals from penalties. This is very unusual.”
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/8399349/Fifa-fears-match-fixing-in-international-football-may-already-have-reached-epidemic-proportions.html