By David Gold
April 26 – The head of the Russian Football Union (RFU) match fixing committee has promised to eradicate match fixing from the country.
Anzor Kavazashvili told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that match fixing, a persistent scourge in Russia, will subside as they make it more “difficult” to carry out.
Match fixing has been a major concern for UEFA and FIFA recently, following a spate of investigations – the most high profile of which was uncovered in Turkey last year and implicated a number of the country’s leading teams, including champions Fenerbahçe, who were banned from this season’s Champions League.
Other match fixing inquiries in Finland, South Korea, Italy and Cyprus have also been carried out recently.
Eastern Europe has a particular problem with match fixing, according to FIFPro general secretary Theo van Seggelen, who told insideworldfootball at the start of this month: “In certain countries in Eastern Europe, clubs are buying their position in their competition.
“They know in advance who will be one, two, three, four and five etc.
“They deal with each other.
“I heard it from the players, it happens in Serbia, it happens in Croatia, and other countries.
“They basically make their own agenda, it’s been going on for some time.
“There is going to be a huge case in a couple of months and a lot of arrests but I can’t say more.”
According to FIFPro’s Black Book statistics, 43.5 per cent of players in Russia are aware of match fixing, compared to 23.6 per cent across Eastern Europe as a whole.
Kavazashvili told RIA Novosti: “It will soon be that we have so much [work] that it will be difficult.
“The fact that we are now moving forward swiftly shows that there will no longer be fixed games because no one wants to pay huge fines or be banned from football for life.”
Among the measures laid out, the RFU will make public names of those found guilty of match fixing to pass on to law enforcement authorities.
Players and team officials found guilty of match fixing can also be banned for life.
It was also pledged earlier this year by the country’s Sports Minister and chair of Russia 2018 Vitaly Mutko that match fixing will soon be a criminal offence.
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734843909labto1734843909ofdlr1734843909owedi1734843909sni@d1734843909log.d1734843909ivad1734843909
Related stories
April 2012: Exclusive – Eastern European clubs buy league positions, claims FIFPro official
January 2012: Russia to make match-fixing a criminal offence