INTEGRITY IN SPORT
Bi-weekly Bulletin
23 January 2017 - 5 February 2017
Photos International Olympic Committee
INTERPOL is not responsible for the content of these articles. The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do
not represent the views of INTERPOL or its employees.
INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin 23 January 2017 - 5 February 2017
INVESTIGATIONS
Poland
Match fixing is sad but true reality at times in sports, but players in Europe took a stand at what they believed to be cheating in a
recent exhibition match. Players from Romanian side Astra Giurgiu and Pogon Szczecin of Poland’s first division each suspected
that the referee manning Wednesday’s match was attempting to fix the scoreline after several decisions the players believed to
be questionable. Pogon ultimately won the match 3-1 when it was all said and done. As shown in the video, the referee awards
three penalty kicks, all of which were far from sure things. In return, players from both teams intentional missed their ensuing
attempts in order to preserve the credibility of the match. While it’s uncertain that any wrongdoing actually occurred, it’s good
to know that players indeed care about the gamesmanship, as shown in this situation. Watch the video below as players from
both teams intentionally miss penalties: (to watch the video, please click on the link below)
Source: Matt Reed, "Polish, Romanian teams intentionally miss PKs, question match-fixing (Video)", 29 January 2017, NBC Sports
http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2017/01/29/polish-romanian-teams-intentionally-miss-pks-question-match-fixing-video/
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is to probe an alleged match fixing incident in the domestic premier B division, a statement said. Two
clubs from neighbouring towns in the tournament ranked first class by the ICC, the Kalutara Physical Training Culture Circle and
Panadura Sports Club have allegedly fixed a three-day game last week. It was alleged that on the final day, hit by rain, both sides
had seen 24 wickets falling for a run rate of over 10 runs an over. In 20 minutes 13 overs were bowled. Both clubs figure
influential members of the current SLC administration, the complainant Sri Lanka Ports Authority said. Former World Cup wining
captain Arjuna Ranatunga is the Sports Minister. SLC said strong action would be taken against wrong doers. An independent
panel would be appointed to investigate.
Source: "Sri Lanka Cricket to probe match fixing", 29 January 2017, Express Sport
http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/sri-lanka-cricket-to-probe-match-fixing-`4497774/
SENTENCES/SANCTIONS
Cyprus
The football association (CFA) has fined two top flight teams €50,000 each after they were implicated in suspicious betting
activity by the European governing body UEFA. Zakaki team Aez and Karmiotissa Polemidion, had been held responsible by UEFA
for betting activity that strongly suggested recent fixtures they played had been fixed. UEFA had notified the CFA in two so-
called red files. The first notice concerned the January 22 league fixture between Apoel and Aez, which the home team won 7-0.
UEFA said there was a great deal of bets in favour of Aez trailing by at least five goals at half time. As it happened, the half-time
score was 5-0 to Apoel. The second notice relates to a January 18 cup fixture (second leg) between Karmiotissa and Aek Larnaca.
Bets were being placed on Karmiotissa losing by at least a five-goal difference. The full-time result was 6-1 to visitors Aek. Aez
denied any involvement in the betting activity but their claim was rejected by the CFA’s judge. “According to the findings of
UEFA’s relevant service, it is clearly determined that punters specifically went for bets that concerned exclusively the first half of
the game in question,” Aristotelis Vryonides said. “Specifically, this game was manipulated by Aez to make financial gain,
deliberately losing with five goals difference during the first half.” Karmiotissa was punished along the same lines.
“According to the findings of UEFA’s relevant service, it is clearly determined that betting activity showed that some of the
punters had prior knowledge that Aek Larnaca would win the game in question with a five-goal difference, a fact that yielded
significant profits.” The notifications came in the wake of statements from CFA chairman Costakis Koutsokoumnis that the party
was over for the betting mafia, which also meant white-washing previous offences. In December, the CFA was forced by UEFA to
put strict measures in place after repeated notifications concerning suspicious betting activity. The first red notice about a club
would mean a €50,000 fine, with second-time offences attracting the same monetary sanctions plus the deduction of six points
from their league table score. A third notice would see the offender expelled from the league and be deprived of all grants and
revenues the club would have receive from the CFA for participating in the competition. A further notice would leave the club
facing the imposition of an additional €100,000 fine and be stricken off the register of the federation, with no entitlement to be
re-registered for a participation in the CFA championship for a period of five years.
Source: George Psyllides, "CFA fines teams €50,000 for match-fixing", 2 February 2017, Cyprus Mail
http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/02/02/cfa-fines-teams-e50000-match-fixing/
INTERPOL is not responsible for the content of these articles. The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do
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INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin 23 January 2017 - 5 February 2017
ODDS AND ENDS
Switzerland
FIFA is closing its match-fixing detection division, deciding to outsource the work of discovering betting irregularities in world
soccer. The investigations that FIFA's Early Warning System had been carrying out for a decade will now be run by data services
company Sportradar. FIFA said Friday that Sportradar's Fraud Detection System will "identify and analyze any suspicious betting
behaviour or patterns." Sportradar intelligence experts will also report to FIFA, which has yet to replace security director Ralf
Mutschke, a former Interpol director who left in December after being in charge of World Cup security and fighting match-fixing.
The governing body previously highlighted the advantages of having an in-house fixing monitoring unit, describing EWS as a "key
pillar of FIFA's ethics work" and stressing that it operated independently of the commercial betting industry. A Sportradar
division provides services to bookmakers. But FIFA maintained that "the full range of fraud prevention services" being made
available to the organization by Sportradar is beneficial for soccer. "Preserving the integrity of the game is paramount to FIFA,"
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. "Given that match manipulation is still a serious concern for everyone who loves the game,
FIFA will work with Sportradar, the global leader in match manipulation detection and prevention, to invigorate and enhance our
integrity program." Sportradar will also provide an app for players and coaches to confidentially report concerns about
irregularities around games. The service will also be an educational tool, warning participants in soccer about the "repercussions
of fraudulent activities," FIFA said. Sportradar has existing betting monitoring agreements with some regional soccer bodies,
including UEFA.
Source: "FIFA closes match-fixing detection division, outsources work", 3 February 2017, Metro News
http://www.metronews.ca/sports/2017/02/03/fifa-stops-internal-fixing-monitoring-outsources-operations.html
World
Nearly 80 per cent of all cases of suspicious betting activity reported to the European Sport Security Association (ESSA) in 2016
involved tennis, new figures have revealed. In all, 130 cases came to the attention of ESSA, the organisation which guards
against illegal gambling and match-fixing in sport, last year. Tennis was the sport involved on 103 occasions, considerably more
than second-placed football where there were 16 cases. There were also four cases involving volleyball, and two each for beach
volleyball and table tennis. One case was reported for snooker, handball and basketball. Seventy-one of the cases originated in
Europe, with 25 in Asia, 14 in South America, 12 in Africa and seven in North America. The amount of cases for 2016 is up from
100 for 2015 but ESSA say this is down to a rise in membership and a number of new information sharing agreements. The full
list for 2016 has been completed following the results for the fourth quarter of the year, where there were 41 alerts, 29
involving tennis. Match-fixing remains a severe problem for the sport, with many believing the problem is due to the lack of
prize money on offer outside of the sport’s elite tier. All of the cases involving the sport were reported to the Tennis Integrity
Unit (TIU).
ESSA chairman Mike O’Kane, said: "The figures show that the dangers from the misuse of insider information and match-fixing
persist for betting operators. "As the sector’s representative body on betting integrity issues, ESSA continues to meet with key
stakeholders to discuss practical and proportionate actions. "We hold positions on a number of major betting policy working
groups and match-fixing programmes to do just that. "As with previous years, we expect 2017 to entail challenges to the
commercial activities of our sector. "ESSA will continue to be an ardent and vocal supporter of responsible regulated operators
and utilise our alert system to protect our growing list of members, consumers and sports from betting related corruption. "We
intend to progress a number of constructive actions in this area during 2017 and in particular work closer with sports governing
bodies and rights holders on more collaborative relationships." The 2015 Australian Open boys’ singles tennis champion Oliver
Anderson was charged with match-fixing earlier this month. Former Australian tennis player Nick Lindahl was then handed a
seven-year ban from the sport, with Romanian tennis player Alexandru-Daniel Carpen barred for life. The full ESSA report can be
read here: http://www.insidethegames.biz/media/file/56581/QR1-BROCHURE-2017-SINGLE.pdf.
Source: Dan Palmer, "Tennis dominates suspicious betting report for 2016", 31 January 2017, Inside the Games
http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1046480/tennis-dominates-suspicious-betting-report-for-2016
INTEGRITY IN SPORT EVENTS
Bahamas
INTERPOL-IOC Integrity in Sports National Workshop
23 Februrary 2017, Nassau, Bahamas
The INTERPOL Integrity in Sports Unit and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will host a National Workshop addressed
to Law Enforcement, Sport Federations, Betting, and relevant ministries.
INTERPOL is not responsible for the content of these articles. The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do
not represent the views of INTERPOL or its employees.
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