FIFA: Players are being Killed by Match Fixers

A stark warning has been issued about the seriousness of the match fixing issue in football.

Chris Eaton head of security at FIFA, has said:

“We have examples of players being intimidated and possible examples of players being killed as a result of their decision not to co-operate with criminals. “

Criminal organisations have been investing sums of money described as ‘staggering’ by FIFA into match fixing and FIFA wants national governments, as well as the UN and Interpol, to become more active in assisting them to tackle the problem.

FIFA is concerned for the lives of players approached by match-fixers, warning that they could pay the “ultimate price”.

Football’s world governing body is opening a hotline next month and has vowed to protect whistleblowers:

“Players are living in fear in many countries,” Eaton added. “If they come forward and have valuable information … they will be protected. I have that commitment from FIFA.”

The hotline will not be operated by FIFA and will offer whistleblowers help in 180 languages and operate from February 1 until the end of the year. FIFA will also offer a plea-bargaining amnesty for just three months to those reporting their own involvement in fixing scams.

The warning is the most stark indication of the seriousness of the problem.

Simone Farina plays for Italian club Gubbio. He reported being offered $255,000 to fix a game. For speaking up, FIFA President Sepp Blatter appointed him a FIFA fair play ambassador on Monday.

Eaton is an Australian who used to be a detective. Now he has a team of investigators in London, Colombia, Malaysia and Jordan to help him uncover a well organised operation, that spreads across the world, notably to the Asian continent where gambling syndicates are a larger part of the culture than in some other continents.

Singaporean businessman Wilson Peruma was given a two year prison sentence in Finland where he fixed matches. Referees are also said to have been bribed to award dubious penalties to assure a certain number of goals were attained.

On Tuesday, Eaton released papers from his investigation into Peruma revealing email exchanges with senior football officials. They showed Perumal promised to pay one unidentified official $100,000, with a promise of $500,000 from future matches.

The issue is not football’s alone.

Three Pakistani cricketers were jailed in England in November for their part in a fixing scandal.

Chris Eaton Interview on FIFA.com