Integrity in sports update: World Rugby initiates robust integrity programme for RWC 2015

Last week INTERPOL and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held a successful three-day Fact Finders Training workshop to develop internal investigation skills concerning competition manipulation allegations in the Nertherlands. The course is designed for individuals tasked with investigating allegations, suspicions or reports of the manipulation of a sports competition. Participants were from various sporting bodies such as football, tennis, cycling and badminton, and officials of the Dutch Court of Arbitration in Sports as well as the Nederlands Olympisch Comité*Nederlandse Sport Federatie (NOC*NSF), which hosted the training.

With the Rugby World Cup presently underway for the next few weeks it’s also encouraging to have positive stories relating to sports integrity in this week's media recap. In line with international best practice implemented by the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby has partnered with the UK Gambling Commission and UK police to establish a sophisticated integrity framework for the Rugby World Cup. This included an educational programme, on anti-corruption and betting, that all players, teams and match officials have to undergo.

Also of interest is a story of a former match-fixer in Indonesia that has decided to come 'clean' and reveal all to authorities. The revelations go beyond the borders of Indonesia implicating both local and foreign persons.

GOOD PRACTICE

Malaysia

A new Malaysian football body will launch a drive to stamp out match-fixing and hooliganism when it takes over the running of domestic competitions next year, its chief executive told AFP.

Malaysian soccer has been repeatedly hit by scandal, most recently last week when flare-throwing fans brought a World Cup qualifier with Saudi Arabia to a halt. But Football Malaysia's CEO Kevin Ramalingam said a reorganisation and a lucrative new TV deal could be the start of a new era, comparing it to the English Premier League's advent in 1992. Football Malaysia will operate the country's top two divisions and cup competitions from January, in a set-up similar to the Premier League and Germany's Bundesliga. The new TV rights deal with sports media company MP and Silva guarantees a minimum of RM1.26 billion (US$297 million) over 15 years - double what was previously earned. "I see it as a starting point," Mr Ramalingam said on the sidelines of the Sports Matters conference in Singapore. "I think we're at a position that's very exciting in terms of what lies ahead... This is the first year of the EPL in that sense." However, Mr Ramalingam said domestic football needed an image boost if it wants TV income to rise still further, with eradicating match-fixing high on the list. Football Malaysia will use betting tracking systems and life bans to crack down on corruption, while also warning players that games are under ever closer scrutiny. "We've come to a point where we have to make sure we're serious about kicking these kind of things out of the game," Mr Ramalingam said. "I think it's (match-fixing) a problem that's happening less now but certainly the possibility of it being there is very strong. Hopefully in the next two of three years we'll be rid of this stigma."

Source: "Football: New Malaysian body targets match-fixing, hooligans ", 17 September 2015, The Business Times, https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/life-culture/football-new-malaysian-body-targets-match-fixing-hooligans

Qatar

The UNESCO-ICSS MINEPS V follow-up meeting concluded yesterday with over 60 international experts agreeing to fulfil recommendations and commitments adopted in the Declaration of Berlin on the manipulation of sports competitions. Organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), the meeting saw experts from a diverse range of countries and sectors participate in two days of extensive discussion across topics to combat match-fixing. Key areas discussed include, national legislation to combat match-fixing; dialogue and cooperation; information and data exchange; funding and resourcing models; and prevention models against match-fixing. Further consultation at a regional level, including an Asia-Pacific Working Group, will be undertaken which will result in concrete recommendations for MINEPS VI. Following his participation at the meeting, G Kannan, Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor, Attorney General’s Chamber, Singapore, said: “Match-fixing is a problem no one country can tackle by itself. It is a problem that urgently requires best practices of countries to be shared so common priorities can be set to combat match-fixing." “We have to work together on an international level to combat the problem. This is an excellent forum in starting that process.” Speaking at the conclusion of the meeting, Ingela Melo, Director, Division for Youth Ethics and Sport, Sector for Social and Human Sciences, Unesco, said: “The last two days have provided opportunity to gather international experts from a diverse set of countries and sectors to identify a pathway to implement MINEPS V commitments on the manipulation of sport competitions."

Source: "Experts agree next steps to combat match-fixing", 18 September 2015, The Peninsula, https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/352655/experts-agree-next-steps-to-combat-match-fixing

United Kingdom

In line with international best practice and in the interests of all players, their support personnel and unions, World Rugby has implemented a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy for Rugby World Cup 2015. Interest in RWC 2015 has never been higher and, with that rise in profile, it is expected that it will attract record levels of betting compared with previous tournaments. In view of the threats to integrity experienced by other sports and in light of best practice including as implemented by the International Olympic Committee, World Rugby has proactively put in place a robust and proportionate integrity programme for RWC 2015. Its stated purpose is to protect the tournament and its participants from corrupt practices and unauthorised gambling. In addition, World Rugby has partnered with the UK Gambling Commission along with UK police to establish a sophisticated integrity framework around the event. Central to World Rugby’s integrity strategy is the delivery of education to all players, teams and match officials. All participants are required to complete the World Rugby online anti-corruption and betting education programme at https://integrity.worldrugby.org/ prior to the commencement of the tournament. The education programme, has been implemented successfully at many levels of the game since 2012 and currently has nearly 10,000 registered users. When teams and match officials arrive in England for the tournament, supplemental education is planned through the medium of an in-person briefing from World Rugby integrity officers. These officers, who are all experts in the field of sports integrity, will be present throughout the tournament to deal with any queries or issues teams or officials may have in relation to integrity and to protect the participants from any unauthorised third-party approaches. In conjunction with these partnerships, World Rugby has contracted the world’s leading betting monitoring agency, Sportradar. Using its widely trusted Fraud Detection System (FDS), it will monitor global betting markets for any suspicious betting behaviours and anomalous odds movements. In addition, the FDS will also monitor the volumes across the markets to provide a unique insight into potential infringements of the integrity code.

Source: "World Rugby takes important steps to maintain RWC’s integrity ", 14 September 2015, Law in Sport News, https://www.lawinsport.com/sports/item/world-rugby-takes-important-steps-to-maintain-rwc-s-integrity?category_id=152

Tuesday, 22 September 2015