Fifa to spend big on match-fixing clampdown

FIFA has pledged to spend ?20 million euros and forge closer ties with Interpol to crack down on the growing threat of football match-fixing and betting fraud.

Fifa President Sepp Blatter said the game's governing body will fund anti-corruption programs over ten years to educate players, referees and officials worldwide. Blatter said match-fixing threatened fans' faith in the sport, adding: "If they cannot believe any longer (in) football because matches are fixed, then Fifa would lose all credibility."

The project - funded by the biggest private donation ever received by Interpol - will operate from the international agency's new base in Singapore.

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Singapore has emerged as a common link in match-fixing scandals, including international friendly matches set up purely for betting scams. In one highly-publicised case a February double-header played in Turkey involving Latvia, Bolivia, Bulgaria and Estonia saw all seven goals scored from penalties. Fifa has charged six match officials from Hungary and Bosnia, but the organiser from Singapore has not been traced.

Blatter and Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble signed the agreement at Fifa headquarters after meeting detectives leading ongoing probes in Finland and Germany. Both organisations have limited investigative powers and must rely on governments and law enforcement agencies to pursue cases.

Blatter added: "It is crucial for us to go together with political authorities and police authorities to fight those that want to destroy our game," he added.

Noble said online betting and match-fixing offered a "perfect mix" for international organised crime syndicates. "It's high profit, a low risk of getting caught, with very low penalties," he said. "Just about every act that occurs in a match is the opportunity to make a huge amount of profits."

Europe's biggest ever match-fixing investigation is being conducted by German police in Bochum who have investigated 300 people and 300 suspect games, including a World Cup qualifying match. Bribes worth 1.7 million euros have been paid to players, and officials but the sum is "just the tip of the iceberg," said Freidhelm Althans, who is leading the Bochum probe. "There is a worldwide network of people in this field," he added.

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