Publications
Partners
Zurich - Football’s world governing body, FIFA, is set to offer financial rewards and amnesty for information on match-fixing and other corruption in the sport.
Chris Eaton, the organisation’s security chief, told media: “This is new ground for sport. I’m afraid criminals have changed the nature of sport.”
This year match-fixing scandals have hit leagues in Turkey, Italy, Israel, Finland and Greece.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has made combating corruption—both within his organization and in leagues around the world—a priority for his fourth term, and will explain his plans this week in Switzerland.
Eaton estimated that soccer gambling totals $1.4 trillion a year – with as much as $1.4 billion can be placed on a single Premier League match alone.
Eaton said at the Professional Players Federation conference on Monday: “We’re going to have a rewards program for one month from January, followed then by a hotline and amnesty program probably for three months, all managed independently.
“This will then be followed by an assessment program, followed by some sort of amnesty for the players who have been unfairly compromised, and there’ll be rehabilitation for those players.”
Eaton said not all rewards would be financial and complete immunity cannot be offered to whistle-blowers.
“We can’t give an amnesty from criminal prosecution. It will be the first time that (rewards and amnesty) have been offered by FIFA, perhaps any sporting body—allowing players, administrators and officials to make a clean breast of it.”
Chris Eaton, the organisation’s security chief, told media: “This is new ground for sport. I’m afraid criminals have changed the nature of sport.”
This year match-fixing scandals have hit leagues in Turkey, Italy, Israel, Finland and Greece.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has made combating corruption—both within his organization and in leagues around the world—a priority for his fourth term, and will explain his plans this week in Switzerland.
Eaton estimated that soccer gambling totals $1.4 trillion a year – with as much as $1.4 billion can be placed on a single Premier League match alone.
Eaton said at the Professional Players Federation conference on Monday: “We’re going to have a rewards program for one month from January, followed then by a hotline and amnesty program probably for three months, all managed independently.
“This will then be followed by an assessment program, followed by some sort of amnesty for the players who have been unfairly compromised, and there’ll be rehabilitation for those players.”
Eaton said not all rewards would be financial and complete immunity cannot be offered to whistle-blowers.
“We can’t give an amnesty from criminal prosecution. It will be the first time that (rewards and amnesty) have been offered by FIFA, perhaps any sporting body—allowing players, administrators and officials to make a clean breast of it.”
