SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Football governing body UEFA has continued its hard-line stance on match fixing and fair play, warning players at the European U-17 Championship in Malta, of the perils of manipulating and influencing incidents and results.
Disciplinary Inspector João Leal addressed the current Netherlands team, one of the favourites to win the competition, and discussed how match-fixing includes trivial bets on the number of cards and fouls, as well as stakes on the winners and losers. He added that football is one of the most popular gaming activities, with upwards of €750bn (£613bn) bet annually, reports Tom Kell of UEFA.com.
“If somebody asks you to manipulate a match, recognise the situation and reject it; tell them you are a footballer and you play by the rules. Then you report it, you tell the authorities that somebody asked me to do something I didn’t want to do. The most important thing is to have knowledge of the situation and to take control of it,” said Leal.
The move follows similar anti-doping talks and is aimed at educating the heroes and football icons of tomorrow. Articles 11 and 12 of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations specifically deal and outline what constitutes match fixing, and how to protect the integrity of competition. Turkish outfits Fenerbahce and Besiktas have suffered UEFA’s wrath for match-fixing, being issued temporary European bans last year. Two Europa League officials were issued lifetime bans for trying to influence the outcome of a first round tie in July 2013.
