By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 – Despite the ongoing scourge of match-fixing across the globe, FIFA Director of Security Ralf Mutschke says he has drawn “positive conclusions” from the efforts to reduce manipulation.
Recent cases in Australia, Austria, El Salvador and Ukraine show how rife the practise has become and last week, FIFA announced that its independent Ethics Committee had taken over investigations in South Africa.
But Mutschke believes crime-busting measures are beginning to pay off.
“We are seeing more and more positive reactions,” he said after a series of workshops on the issue. “The first signs of success are beginning to appear. People are contacting us.”
So far, 145 member associations have been involved at various levels in FIFA’s joint initiative with Interpol to fight match-fixing while FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has extended 267 sanctions imposed by member associations to have worldwide effect.
“We are also receiving more quality reports via our hotline,” said Mutschke. “We will only have sustainable success if it becomes the rule that players and officials report attempts by the world of organised crime to recruit them.”
The two workshops were in Colombia and Algeria and Mutschke added: “Our goal is to ensure that 90% of our associations are involved in the initiative by the end of next year. All stakeholders will have to step up their commitment next year, and that includes FIFA.”
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