14 Oct 2011

Blog - Polish Presidency will be leading the fight against match fixing

Blog - Polish Presidency will be leading the fight against match fixing news article image

Rafal Piechota - Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism

In recent years, sport in Europe has been confronted with an increasing number of scandals linked to the manipulation of results (often referred to as “match-fixing”), both in the context of betting and in achieving sporting objectives.

As demonstrated by last decade’s incidents, sports corruption, particularly related to bookmaking activities, is increasing, and each sport and State may be at risk. It is enough to recall the match-fixing incidents in football, including those connected with matches in major European competitions, as well as scandals involving cricket, horseracing and tennis.

It is no surprise that the necessity to take measures towards preserving the integrity of sport has been declared unanimously by different public authorities, representatives of the sports movement and gambling operators.

Also Poland is a country which has recently been affected by match-fixing and has taken some concrete steps to combat it. As a result of a several-year investigation, sports officials, referees and athletes have been penalised and some sports clubs were relegated.

Having this kind of experience, Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU gives priority treatment to the urgent problem of match-fixing.

First exchange of views on match fixing at political level was organized by the Presidency during the Informal Meeting of EU Sports Ministers on 13-14 October in Krakow. However, a dialogue on this subject was launched much earlier. Several bilateral and multilateral meetings with all interested stakeholders took place.

The abovementioned dialogue is to pave the way for a more detailed policy debate during the meetings of the Working Party on Sport. In this regard, the Presidency aims at adopting a political message (a set of operational Council conclusions).

Rafal Piechota is from the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism and is talking at the Sport and Recreation Alliance EU summit: Finding funding and fighting fixing.
 

Latest News

6 Nov 2024

Updated UK Concussion Guidelines published underlining the message ‘If in doubt, sit them out’

Today, the Sport and Recreation Alliance is publishing an updated version of the UK Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport.

Read more Arrow Right
5 Nov 2024

Alliance welcomes Ruth Hall and Alex Jordan to its Board

The Alliance is delighted to announce that Ruth Hall and Alex Jordan have joined the Board, and started their four-year terms following the Alliance’s Annual General Meeting on 15 October.

Read more Arrow Right
31 Oct 2024

Autumn Budget 2024 – What does it mean for sport and recreation?

On Wednesday 30 October, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP delivered her first Budget statement to the House of Commons. Whilst the Budget’s core focus was on a number of key tax rises to fund increased spending on health and education, we look below at some of the measures which will be of interest for Alliance members and the sport and recreation sector.

Read more Arrow Right

Become a member

Joining the Sport and Recreation Alliance is pretty simple, but worthwhile!

Register now

Our Partners

Admincontrol logoAir IT logoGateley Legal logohelp me Angela logoHowden logoMarsh Sport logoSport:80 logoZellar logo93FT logo