Fianna Fáil Senator Cecilia Keaveney has said that FIFA’s plans to set up its own Anti Corruption Committee will do little to protect the integrity of sport. Senator Keaveney was reacting to the news that FIFA President Sepp Blatter wants to create a special committee to purify the sport at all levels.
“While this is a step in the right direction, it falls short of the decisive action that must be taken to tackle the growing prevalence of corruption across all sports. Sport has been consistently dogged by allegations of dishonesty, dodgy deals and match fixing. It’s time for the international community to stand up to this,” said Senator Keaveney.
“As the President of the Council of Europe’s Youth and Sport Committee, I have proposed that we establish an International Anti-Corruption in Sport Agency to address this problem. I have received significant support from my European colleagues and I’ve been asked to produce a report on my proposal.”
“While the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) was a response to the serious scourge of drug taking in sport, there is the ongoing and growing potential for compromising sports officials through monetary threats. We have seen the claims of ‘vote buying’ for locations for major fixtures, and there are also people before the courts on charges of large scale match fixing.”
“I am deeply concerned by the allegations of widespread organised crime involvement in betting. Even here in Ireland, the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has said it’s difficult to keep our gambling laws updated to coincide with the evolving world of online betting. We are not alone in this, which shows the urgent need for a coordinated international approach. Any new agency must have at its core the goal of exchanging information to empower governments to act to eradicate corruption in sport.”
“It really isn’t enough for any association to create an internal committee just to make it look like it’s taking the problem seriously. It really isn’t enough to say ‘because we have a committee we have credibility’. There must be a much bigger reaction to safeguard the future of our sports,” concluded Senator Keaveney.
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