FIFA can today confirm the extension of sanctions imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)and the Italian Football Association (FIGC) in relation to match manipulation.

On 28 May 2014, CAS banned Maltese player Kevin Sammut from all football-related activities for a period of ten years following proceedings conducted by UEFA disciplinary bodies in relation to the manipulation of a qualifying match for the UEFA European Football Championship in 2007.

On 7 May 2014, the disciplinary committee of the FIGC banned Ghanaian player Mark Edusei from all football-related activities for three years and six months in relation to the manipulation of a match in the Italian Serie B in 2009.

In the above cases, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions to have worldwide effect in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136 ff. of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The decisions by the chairman have been duly notified to the respective confederations and member associations today.

FIFA continues to work closely with its member associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation. As part of a ten-year programme of collaboration with INTERPOL, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while e-learning programmes are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation to help them to avoid becoming victims of this threat to football integrity.

Other initiatives include the signing of an integrity declaration by officials, the monitoring of the betting market via FIFA’s subsidiary Early Warning System (EWS) and the setting up of an e-learning ethics tool, an integrity hotline and e-mail address and a confidential reporting system.