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.
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