Cypriot FA rejects Karmiotissa and AEZ denials and issues €50,000 matchfixing fines
February 7 – The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) has fined two top flight teams €50,000 each after they were implicated in suspicious betting activity.
Integrity
Beckham claims hacked emails were doctored. Unicef lend support
February 6 – David Beckham’s reputation as a globally respected icon has been called into question by a series of unsubstantiated and reportedly hacked emails alleged to have been acquired by Football Leaks, sport’s equivalent of WikiLeaks, which claim the motivation for his renowned humanitarian work was partly in order to obtain a knighthood.
The FA faces ‘no confidence’ vote from UK parliament
February 6 – The English Football Association’s image as an anachronistic body of blazer-wearing conservative officials resistant to reform will come under renewed scrutiny this week when a group of parliamentarians debate a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the governing body.
FIFA shelves Early Warning System in favour Sportradar for war on match-fixing
By Andrew Warshaw
February 3 – The role and reputation of Sportradar in detecting global match-fixing and irregular betting patterns has received a major boost after FIFA decided to hire the specialist firm in place of its own detection division.
Jeonbuk still out in the AFC Champions League cold as CAS refuses to open the door back
February 3 – AFC Champions League holders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have not been cleared to defend their title. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected the club’s request for ‘provisional measures’ to allow the club back into the 2017 competition following it January 18 sanction for historic match-fixing.
ESSA reports its match-fixing figures and warns of persisting dangers
February 2 – The ESSA, the sports betting integrity body whose members are regulated bookmakers, has reported in its 2016 annual report just 130 cases of suspicious betting activity with just 16 in football.
Integrity group SIGA formalises structure and launches pilot projects with EPFL joining the party
By Paul Nicholson
February 1 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has become an organisation. The eclectic grouping of consultants and lobby groups to sports organisers, formalised themselves as a Swiss association at a signing ceremony in London yesterday. They will set up permanent offices in the country.
SIGA rallies support for a mass march towards sporting integrity
By Paul Nicholson
February 1 – Yesterday they held their first Sport Integrity Forum, today the Sport Integrity Global Alliance is holding its Constitutive General Assembly that will seek to formalise its structure as a multi-industry independent coalition of sports focussed bodies (including some international sports federations).
CAS’s Skenderbeu decision opens doors to prosecutors in war on match-fixing
By Paul Nicholson
January 27 – The full text of the decision on the dismissal of the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by Albanian club Klubi Sportiv Skenderbeu to have their UEFA Champions League ban lifted has been published. It makes interesting reading and could become a landmark decision in the battle against match fixing.
Jeonbuk appeals AFC Champions League 2017 ban for match-fixing at CAS
January 27 – AFC Champions League holders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors from South Korea have filed an urgent request for provisional measures at the Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to overcome the ban from Champions League competition imposed on them by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for match-fixing.
Darmstadt and Ben-Hatira part company over links to Islamic group Ansaar International
January 26 – Bundesliga club Darmstadt have released one of its players over his links with an Islamic charity. Tunisian midfielder Anis Ben-Hatira has left by mutual consent following criticism of his ties with Ansaar International.
Manchester police to investigate anti-semitic chanting at Spurs fans as hate crime
January 26 – A video in which fans can be heard singing anti-Semitic insults before last week’s Premier League clash between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur is being investigated by police.
Belgian court awards Diarra €6m, ruling FIFA and KBVB twisted law to stop him from working
By Andrew Warshaw
January 20 – In a potential landmark ruling that could have far-reaching consequences, a Belgian court has found FIFA and the Belgian FA (KBVB) jointly guilty of obstructing former Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra’s transfer to Charleroi in 2015 and has ordered them to pay him €6 million.
UK child sex abuse cases leap to over 500 victim reports and 248 clubs ‘impacted’
January 19 – More than 1,000 cases relating to child sexual abuse within football in the United Kingdom have now been reported to police with 248 clubs caught up in the scandal according to latest figures.
Child abuse: serial offender Bennell denies latest charges to court over video link
January 17 – A former English league coach has denied eight child abuse offences in the 1980s in a case that came to light late last year, one of many that rocked the sport when several ex-players came forward to describe their suffering.