INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin - 1 May 2018 - 14 May 2018

For the first two weeks of May, we have taken note of how sports organizations are faced with an increased number of match-fixing incidents and take the necessary measures to sanction them.

In El Salvador, a former coach has been banned by FIFA for failing to report a match-fixing attempt before the World Cup qualifier against Canada in 2016. In Colombia, a tennis player has been suspended for three years and fined $5,000 after failing to cooperate with a Tennis Integrity Unit investigation. In Malaysia, two badminton players have been banned for 15 and 20 years and have also been fined with $15,000 and $25,000 by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). In Pakistan, an United Arab Emirates based coach was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following Pakistan’s captain allegations that he was approached to participate in a spot-fixing scheme.

Meanwhile, the Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) opened an investigation into the Azam Rwanda Premier League match between SC Kiyovu and Miroplast after Miroplast head coach accused SC Kiyovu of bribing his players to lose 2-0. In response to the case, the Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee (RNOSC) has called for concerted effort to fight corruption and match-fixing in sports.

In Malta, the Parliament approved a new Gaming Act including several features to improve Maltese Gaming Authorities’ regulatory framework regarding money laundering, player protection and criminal justice. In Uganda, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) created a referees disciplinary panel following reports of referees technical misconduct and indiscipline.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated to appeal Switzerland’s supreme court against rulings which cleared some Russian athletes of doping sanctions from the Sochi Games. Also, the IOC stated that boxing may not be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics amid concerns over the sport’s governing body, the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

International betting integrity body ESSA reported 50 cases of suspicious betting involving nine sports: tennis, football, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, eSports and beach volleyball. According to ESSA, tennis makes up over half of alerts in the first quarter of 2018. Following the publication of the Tennis Independent Review Interim Report, Wimbledon officials are planning to restructure the lower levels of tennis in light of reducing match-fixing attempts. Finally, French regulator ARJEL reported its highest ever online sports betting turnover in the first trimester of 2018 since the opening of the market in 2010.

We welcome submissions on best practices, major developments, new trends and relevant articles for publication in the bulletin. We also welcome hard copies of publications that your Organization is producing in the field of sports corruption at the below address.

The next bi-weekly bulletin will be circulated on Monday, 28 May 2018.

Wednesday, 16 May 2018