INDIA/FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Indian clubs report approaches by a foreign betting syndicate to fix league matches

Record ID: 1383184

  • Title: INDIA/FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Indian clubs report approaches by a foreign betting syndicate to fix league matches
  • Date: 22nd January 2014
  • Summary: KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL, INDIA (JANUARY 22, 2014) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) VARIOUS OF VICE-PRESIDENT OF ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION (AIFF), SUBRATA DUTTA, TALKING WITH REPORTER DUTTA'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) VICE-PRESIDENT OF ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION (AIFF), SUBRATA DUTTA, SAYING: "I feel what FIFA and Interpol has now done to Indian football, since
  • Embargoed: 6th February 2014 21:42
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Crime,General,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA115Y18CWTHE9EO3MIHAHVW48Y
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: A foreign betting syndicate's approach to Indian clubs to fix I-League matches last season has prompted the country's football federation to take the first step towards setting up an anti-corruption unit.
    The issue was highlighted at the FIFA-INTERPOL "Integrity in Sport Workshop" that was held in New Delhi last week.
    The fledgling Indian soccer league, headed by All India Football Federation (AIFF), which has faced match-fixing claims in the past, called it a genuine concern.
    Speaking in India's eastern Kolkata city on Wednesday (January 22), AIFF Vice-President Subrata Dutta said it is important for India to work with FIFA and Interpol as the country's soccer profile continues to grow.
    "I feel what FIFA and Interpol has now done to Indian football, since Indian football is gathering importance and FIFA is giving a lot of importance to Indian football, especially for the development and promotion of Indian football; I think FIFA has done a wonderful job along with Interpol by educating all the stakeholders of Indian football about match-fixing and betting and all that so that we know exactly how to protect our football from disrepute," Dutta said.
    Explaining how the syndicates operate, the chairman of the Interpol Integrity in Sport Steering Group, John Abbott, said that many match-fixing claims are international in nature.
    "If you are a professional criminal, your activities are covert. You don't go around wearing a badge which says I am a professional criminal. So of course, detecting them and apprehending them and collecting the evidence sufficient for an effective prosecution is difficult. It is made more difficult when it is international in nature. So that is where Interpol does help. But generally professional criminality tends to be more and more international nowadays. So, it is difficult."
    Early last year, Mumbai FC Vice-President Atul Bagdamia took a call from a Malaysian, promising the Indian club an all-expenses-paid trip to his homeland to play friendlies there.
    Subsequently came the suggestion to fix I-League matches.
    Last month, five players and three team officials from a Malaysian lower league soccer club were handed life bans after being found guilty of match-fixing.
    Soccer authorities' response to match-fixing has been based on "zero tolerance" for offenders and early warning systems to alert them to unusual betting patterns which could indicate that a match has been manipulated.
    They also warn that they are dealing with something outside their control which can only be combated with the help of police and judicial authorities.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Sports restriction: Clip cannot be re-published without additional clearances from the appropriate sport's governing body
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