FIFA bans six match officials for life for match-fixing

FIFA bans six match officials for life for match-fixing

2011-08-11 10:11:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (BNO NEWS) – The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Disciplinary Committee decided on Tuesday to ban six match officials for life after finding them guilty of corruption and match-fixing, FIFA announced on Wednesday.

Charges were brought against the Hungarian and Bosnian referees after they were found guilty of match fixing during an international tournament in Antalya, Turkey, on February 9. During the matches, Latvia against Bolivia and Estonia versus Bulgaria, all the goals were scored from penalties.

The six match officials have been banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for life. They were found guilty of passive corruption and unlawfully influencing match results, according to the FIFA disciplinary code.

The BBC reported that the Hungarian referees are being held by police in their country while authorities are further investigating the match-fixing accusations. The Bosnian officials denied the charges at the hearing but were found guilty.

The two friendly matches were fixed for a betting scam, which has become an important case as FIFA attempts to bolster its fight against match-fixing. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee meeting also examined the case of Lisle Austin, head of the Barbados Football Association.

Austin was punished by FIFA after he lodged a claim in the ordinary courts in the Bahamas to succeed Jack Warner as president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

Austin was initially made interim president when Warner was suspended on bribery charges, but was himself suspended when he attempted to remove Chuck Blazer from his position as General Secretary of CONCACAF. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided to ban Austin from taking part in any football-related activity for a period of one year.

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