The AFC statement on Lebanon match-fixing case

The Asian Football Confederation has received the summary report from the Lebanese Football Association on their investigations and subsequent action against involvement of Lebanese players in match-fixing. AFC has also requested the Lebanese Football Association to provide the full investigation report.

The Lebanese Football Association has informed the Member Associations of India, Malaysia and Indonesia of sanctions on Lebanese players plying their trade in these countries. As per Article 140 of the AFC Disciplinary Code "a sanction imposed by a Member Association has the same effect in each Member Association of AFC as if the sanction had been imposed by any one of them".

The three players who are playing outside Lebanon are: Mahmoud El Ali (Persiba Balipapan, Indonesia), Ramez Dayoub (Selangor FA, Malaysia) and Akram Moghrabi (Churchill Brothers SC, India).

It is interesting to note that Akram Moghrabi just a few days ago left Churchill Brothers SC


The AFC has no knowledge on any suspicion surrounding Lebanon's any of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

The AFC would like to congratulate the Lebanese Football Association for carrying out the investigation and imposing sanctions on its players and would continue to support such initiatives by our Member Associations.

The AFC has also set up an internal task force to educate the Member Associations on ways and measures to combat this menace and monitor and coordinate with everyone involved to fight match-fixing in AFC competitions.

The AFC sets up internal task force against match fixing

The Asian Football Confederation has set-up an internal task force in line with FIFA's initiative to coordinate fight against match-fixing in the continent.

The AFC General Secretary Dato' Alex Soosay informed that the objectives of the task force will be to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to achieve the objectives, to educate the Member Associations on ways and measures to combat this menace and monitor and coordinate with everyone involved to fight match-fixing in AFC competitions.

The task force will also introduce and implement mechanisms to fight match manipulation in line with the objectives set out in AFC Statutes, AFC Code of Ethics and AFC Disciplinary Code.

"The two-day conference - 'Match fixing – The ugly side of the beautiful game' – which was held in Kuala Lumpur with the help of Interpol and FIFA raised awareness about the seriousness of this threat in our game. By setting up this task force, we would like to coordinate the education, training and implementation of measures through one platform," he said.

"Some of our Member Associations, who have been facing this threat for long, have come up with novel ideas to combat match-fixing and have succeeded in controlling the threat," he said referring to initiatives taken by Chinese Football Association (CFA), Football Association of Singapore (FAS), Korea Football Association (KFA) and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

"The CFA banned 33 people, including two officials, club owners, referees and several star players for life recently which will surely send a strong message to the negative elements," he added.

"The FAS initiated polygraph tests for players and this had a positive impact in their fight against match-fixing."

Dato' Alex asked all the Member Associations to join the fight against match-fixing and corruption.

"I would like all our MAs to follow the examples of these MAs and join this fight to strengthen the fair play in this game."

"I would like to thank Interpol and FIFA for the successful organisation of the two-day conference in Kuala Lumpur," Dato' Alex added.

INTERPOL conference addresses threats posed by match-fixing

Representatives from law enforcement agencies, AFC Member Associations and the betting industry are meeting in Kuala Lumpur for INTERPOL's international conference 'Match fixing: The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game' to identify the tactics used by organised crime networks behind this global threat to the sport and boost prevention efforts.

Some 200 participants are attending the two-day conference (February 20/21) organised by INTERPOL's Integrity in Sport unit, as part of the joint INTERPOL/FIFA Training, Education and Prevention initiative, and in partnership with the Asian Football Confederation and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong told delegates, "We need to admit that match-fixing is a real danger to football's ethical values and needs to be eliminated to preserve the sanctity of the sport."

"Your participation in this conference proves that we are ready to work hand-in-hand to eradicate this cancer from the game. Match-fixing is too complex and widespread for one organization to fight it alone. To fight this, we need a joint and coordinated effort," added Jilong.

AFC General Secretary Dato' Alex Soosay asked the Member Associations to commit themselves in the fight against match-fixing.

"We look forward to embracing our 47 Member Associations in a very special way by eradicating all negative elements which has plagued our beautiful game in recent years," he said.

"AFC will pledge to continue working along with Interpol to deliver a series of training, education and prevention workshops in 2013 and 2014 at both regional and national levels."

"I would also like to highlight to all our Member Associations of their statutory obligation as it is your responsibility to fight match-fixing and corruption. We need your cooperation and commitment to implement what you learn here in the next two days."

INTERPOL's Director of Capacity Building and Training, Dale Sheehan said it was essential that all those involved in combating this crime join resources and 'take back the game of football'.

"Criminals can make millions in illicit profits from match-fixing with little risk of being detected and will exploit every opportunity. By bringing together partners we are raising awareness and understanding of the problem," said Sheehan.

"Sports and fair play are the very fabric of our society and youth and the impact of match-fixing, including murder, suicide, assault and threats has the ability to undermine that very fabric," he concluded.

FIFA's Head of the Security, Ralf Mutschke said the vast number of games played and the massive increase in online betting make the sport an easy target for organised crime.

"Where money flows, corruption often follows. We need and must target our action at a global level. FIFA cannot fight and win this battle against corruption in football alone; involving all parties that need to work together is the key to the battle against corruption in football," said Mr. Mutschke.

High on the conference agenda are current and anticipated future trends in match-fixing and irregular/illegal betting and the adverse influence of the Asian betting markets and organised crime on football.

Identifying current good practice, ways of enhancing good governance and the importance of protecting players and initiatives in training, education, prevention and investigation are also key issues to be discussed.

The AFC supports fight against match-fixing

The Asian Football Confederation has noted the recently released reports of Europol on match-fixing in football and would like to announce the confederation's support to Europol in its investigations.

Though no formal contact to the AFC has been made so far from any organisation, the AFC is fully prepared to support institutions in the fight against match-fixing and illegal betting in football.

"We are closely following the news reports which have suggested that Asia is one of the continents where the suspicious matches took place," said AFC General Secretary Dato' Alex Soosay.

"AFC has a zero-tolerance policy towards unethical practices in football and we are determined to fight against any kind of irregularities that include and are not limited to match-fixing, corruption and illegal betting in the game," Dato' Alex added.

"Our endeavour to wipe out corruption continues and the confederation is proactively organising events to fight corruption and match-fixing in the continent," he further added.

The AFC is co-hosting a two-day conference in association with FIFA and INTERPOL in Kuala Lumpur on February 20 and 21 on training, education and prevention initiative of match-fixing and corruption.

Representatives from AFC's Member Associations, government, betting industry and law enforcement have been invited to attend the 'INTERPOL International Conference – Match Fixing: The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game'.