"Match-fixing robs it of the core values" claims top UN officials

By Andrew Warshaw

March 25 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter warned today that match fixing must be stamped out to preserve the integrity not only of world football but of sport in general.

Opening the two-day Sports Funding, Sponsoring and Sports Betting Congress in Zurich Blatter repeated FIFA’s stance that it would employ a zero tolerance policy when it came to illegal betting, widely regarded as the most critical issue now facing the game.

“Match fixing shakes the very foundations of sport, namely fair play, respect and discipline,” said Blatter who urged Governments and law enforcement bodies to join forces with FIFA to eradicate the problem.

Willi Lemke, Special Advisor to the United Nations secretary general on Sport, stressed that sport played a crucial unifying role and could not afford to be tarnished by illegal betting.

“Sport will lose its significance if match-fixing robs it of the core values which make it so popular and unique,” he said.

“It turns sport into an economic plaything.”

International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge recently described illegal betting as the biggest threat to world sport.

It is estimated that around $140 billion of the $350 billion turnover in the gambling industry is achieved through illegal bets.

Hence Governments had to develop fresh laws as well as help fund the fight against illegal sports betting, said Lemke.

“The threat of match-fixing is being taken very seriously and we have to use all the powers at our disposal to fight it,” he said.

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