Integrity in sports update: Pepsico drops IPL sponsorship after spot-fixing scandal
Last week, INTERPOL together with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held a national workshop on Sports Integrity in Lima, Peru. The workshop was well attended with more than 70 participants from the Peruvian National Olympic Committee , national sports federations, national police force and juridical system. Protecting clean athletes from competition manipulation was the main focus of the workshop and provided the participants with an opportunity to learn from top experts in this field, including from the UK Gambling Commission.
In this week’s media recap we also have allegations by a referee to a upcoming match between Barcelona and Real Madrid of possible matchfixing. He alleges that he was pressured to favour a certain team for the match next month. Spanish anticorruption police are investigating the matchfixing claims.
CURRENT INVESTIGATION
Spain
Barcelona and Real Madrid are set to clash next month with an assistant referee set to officiate the game claiming he was being pressure to favour the home team.
Spanish anti-corruption police are investigating match-fixing claims after an assistant referee expected to officiate El Clásico claimed he was being pressured to favour Real Madrid.
The game, which is the most important in Spanish sport and considered one of the world’s biggest football matches, is due to take place at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium on November 21.
The official - who has remained anonymous for now due to fear of recriminations both personally and professionally - claimed that the referee for the game instructed him that he had been given instructions by the Spanish refereeing committee to favour Madrid.
Assistant referees were reportedly targeted as their decisions draw less scrutiny than the men in the middle.
When the linesman refused, he reportedly received a phone call from the Spanish federation that threatened his career.
The anonymous official filed a formal legal complaint last week, which is now being investigated, while Spanish radio station Cadena COPE later named refereeing committee member Jose Angel Jimenez as the man responsible for applying pressure
Source: Ed Malyon, "El Clasico match-fixing claims investigated by Spanish anti-corruption authorities", 21 October 2015, Mirror, https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/el-clasico-match-fixing-claims-6678425
LEGISLATION
United States
Pennsylvania representative Nick Kotik has introduced new draft legislation in an effort to legalise sports betting in licensed casinos in the US state. Upon unveiling the legislation, Kotik, Democratic chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, said the state would only consider introducing the laws if federal laws surrounding sports betting are overturned.
Laws set out under the Professional and Amateur Sport Protection Act only allow for sports betting to take place in Nevada, Montana, Delaware and Oregon. Kotik’s legislation includes similar polices as those proposed by lawmakers in New Jersey during an unsuccessful bid to legalise sports betting in the state last year.
Source: AP, "Pennsylvania to consider sports betting legislation", 19 October 2015, igaming business, https://www.igamingbusiness.com/news/pennsylvania-consider-sports-betting-legislation
ODDS AND ENDS
India
PepsiCo has withdrawn from its sponsorship deal of the Indian Premier League (IPL) following match-fixing scandals, with Chinese smartphone maker Vivo taking over the title sponsorship of the world’s richest cricket tournament. The beverage company’s exit could discourage other brands from investing in the IPL, analysts said.
Pepsi bought the title sponsorship rights to the IPL for five years for US$71 million starting in 2013. That was almost double the amount paid by the Indian property developer DLF for the previous five years. But the IPL has been plagued by corruption scandals in recent years. In July, Chennai Super Kings, owned by Indian Cements, and Rajasthan Royals, owned by a consortium including Bollywood’s Shilpa Shetty, were suspended from the competition for two years over a match-fixing controversy.
“There is a dent in the image of IPL,” said Sanjay Chakraborty, a marketing communication adviser based in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Pepsi was investing “a lot of money, which was at stake with this brand”, he said. “Their own image can get corroded if they associate with an event that has an image problem.” Sponsorship rates were likely to come down because of the match-fixing scandal and Pepsi’s withdrawal as it would become more challenging for the IPL to get sponsors on board, he said.
Source: Rebecca Bundhun, "Pepsi quits IPL cricket sponsorship after match-fixing scandals", 19 October 2015, The National Business, https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/pepsi-quits-ipl-cricket-sponsorship-after-match-fixing-scandals
- Anti-Corruption Cricket Football House Gaming Oversight Committee India Indian Premier League IOC Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) London 2012 Match-Fixing Olympic Peru Peruvian National Olympic Committee (NOC) Professional and Amateur Sport Protection Act South Korea Spain The UK Gambling Commission United Kingdom (UK) United States of America (USA)
