INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin - 25 July-7 August 2016

As everyone knows, the Rio Olympics kicked off last week with the opening ceremony. All eyes on currently in Brazil as athletes compete for the glory of the gold medal.

For the last two weeks, part of the issues are focused on the doping case in Russia and other parts of the world. One of the articles on this bulletin is on match-fixing on a youth sport team. This is to show that not just major adult sports are affected by competition manipulation, but that anyone can be affected regardless of age. We also have some cases of match fixing in which investigation is ongoing. We would also like to highlight the case occurred in Malta which shows a particular Modus Operandi used by match fixers.

INVESTIGATIONS

South Korea

SEOUL, South Korean police say they're investigating a baseball player who confessed to his team about match-fixing. The investigation of Yoo Chang-sik, a left-handed pitcher for Kia Tigers, came four days after prosecutors indicted two other players on match-fixing allegations. The Korean Baseball Organization on Sunday said Yoo had reported to his team that he deliberately allowed a walk in the first inning during a 2014 game when he was playing for Hanwha Eagles. Media reports say Yoo took $4,400 in return from a broker. Police on Monday said they'll likely request prosecutors to indict Yoo. South Korea's major professional sports leagues, including baseball and soccer, have been rocked by match-fixing scandals in recent years that have led to jail sentences and lifetime bans of several players and coaches.

Source: AP, "South Korea baseballer gets police probe for match-fixing", 25 July 2016, Daily Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3706334/South-Korea-baseballer-gets-police-probe-match-fixing.html

United States

A pair of teams playing in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships’ U18 Girls tournament have been accused of deliberating tanking their match in order to move on. TopDrawerSoccer.com reported Carlsbad Elite and Ambassadors FC entered their Thursday match against each other at the top of their group and would both move on with a draw. When the final whistle blew, that’s exactly what happened with a 0-0 tie. But from video purportedly shot at the game, it looked like neither side was trying to score or do much of anything. Here’s what Ambassadors coach Caleb Fortune told the site, claiming the heat in Texas was a factor: “Both teams were through pretty much, so there was nothing to play for. Earlier in the day, there had been 18 people collapsed due to the heat. Just at the start of the game, we never fixed the result because we didn’t have to. There was nothing there to play for. We just told our players, if the other team has the ball at the back, just don’t press them. There’s no reason to run around and kill yourselves during this event.” “If you watch the start the players were kind of going back and forth and there was a couple of shots. As the game went on, they stopped pressing and kind of asked what’s the point of running? There’s no reason to do it. I do understand that in terms of the event, you have to play the game. But the result was meaningless. We weren’t match fixing.” Tommy Tanner, a director of a Syracuse team eliminated because of the 0-0 tie, told Syracuse.com, “Frankly what happened yesterday is the biggest disgrace that I’ve seen in my 38 years of soccer. It tarnishes the whole national series.”

And here’s more from Syracuse.com about what Tanner saw when he headed over to watch the game in question: Around halftime of the Syracuse game, Tanner and program assistant coach Mike Kirmse started getting word of some oddities in the Carlsbad-Cleveland game. So they both wandered over to that contest and what they saw left them stunned. Players on each team were simply taking turns kicking the ball around, with no attempt to attack or play any version of competitive soccer. The advantage to Cleveland was a free ticket to the semis while Carlsbad, who otherwise likely could have pounded its foe, got what amounted to a day off. U.S. Youth Soccer issued a statement on Saturday in response to the accusations, but didn’t find enough evidence to deem it complete collusion: After meeting with both teams, the Committee found the teams were disrespectful to the game, the competition and US Youth Soccer. The integrity of the National Championships Series Competition is predicated on fair play and sportsmanship by all participants and those ideals were compromised. Upon completion of a thorough investigation, including interviews with the teams in question and game officials, the NCS Committee did not find sufficient evidence of collusion. However, it determined the coaches may have had a material effect on the outcome of the match. Disciplinary action and monetary fines have been assessed to both teams. While it supports the disciplinary process of the National Championship Series, the US Youth Soccer Board of Directors is also investigating this matter to determine whether potential violations of US Youth Soccer bylaws occurred, or if the actions of the coaches were adverse to the best interests of soccer or US Youth Soccer. While each team worked hard on the first two days of play to put themselves in a position to advance, we believe the strategy of the coaches in this game failed their players, the competition and the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. US Youth Soccer will review its policies and make any necessary alterations to ensure this type of display doesn’t happen in the future.

Source: Charles Curtis, "Two youth teams accused of deliberately tanking after playing terrible soccer game", 30 July 2016, USA Today, https://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/07/us-youth-soccer-national-championship-tanking-accusations

Zimbabwe

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has promised to dig deep into the latest match-fixing episode to have hit the local game, where premiership debutants Bulawayo City are alleged to have paid Border Strikers’ Talent Sande to manipulate the outcome of the midweek fixture played in Beitbridge on Wednesday. Ironically, Bulawayo City went on to win the match by a single goal despite the fact that Sande snubbed the advances by members of the visitors’ technical team and reported the matter to his club. Bulawayo City assistant coach Farai Mujokoro is being fingered as the chief architect of the match-fixing saga. In a statement released yesterday, the local league governing body said: “The Premier Soccer League is investigating allegations of match-fixing that took place before the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match between Border Strikers FC and Bulawayo City FC on Wednesday August 3 2016. "The league is taking these allegations seriously and has instituted an investigation into the matter. We have since received a report from Border Strikers FC and we await reports from the Bulawayo City FC technical staff of Philani Ncube, Farai Mujokoro, Reginald Buhali and Gift Mbala. “We would like to applaud Border Strikers FC and their player Talent Sande for showing courage and sportsmanship by bringing to light allegations of match manipulation. We call upon all stakeholders to recognise, resist and report match manipulation. Winning is without value if achieved unfairly or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure. Playing fair earns respect while cheating only brings shame,” read the statement. Bulawayo City has since suspended the entire technical department led by Ncube.

Source: AP, "PSL investigate latest match-fixing scam", 7 August 2016, The Standard, https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2016/08/07/psl-investigate-latest-match-fixing-scam/

SENTENCES/SANCTIONS

FIFA

FIFA can today confirm the worldwide extension of the two-year ban, starting on 10 July 2016, that was imposed on the vice president of the Equatorial Guinea FA, Mr Gustavo Ndong Edu, by the CAF Disciplinary Board on 9 July 2016 for attempts to offer money to the match officials of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualifier between Equatorial Guinea and Mali on 10 April 2016. The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the two-year ban from taking part in any kind of football-related activity in accordance with art. 78 par. 1(c) and art. 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The relevant parties have been duly notified of the chairman’s decision.

Source: "FIFA extends match-manipulation sanction against vice-president of Equatorial Guinea FA", 25 July 2016, FIFA website, https://www.fifa.com/governance/news/y=2016/m=7/news=fifa-extends-match-manipulation-sanction-against-vice-president-of-equ-2812980.html

Monday, 15 August 2016