FIFA to reward match-fixing whistleblowers
Reuters - Monday 17 October 2011, 17:09
Match-fixing whistleblowers will
be offered amnesties and other rewards in an attempt to clean up
the game's image, FIFA said on Monday.
FIFA's head of security Chris Eaton, speaking at the
Professional Players Federation conference, said many players
became involved in match-fixing at a young age under pressure
from criminals or even from their own families or team mates.
He said it was now FIFA's responsibility to provide them with
the support networks they needed in order to admit what was
going on.
"It's so important that players have a way that they can
report this," he added. "Recognise, resist and report - it's
the three Rs.
"We're going to have a rewards programme for one month from
January, followed by a hotline and amnesty programme probably
for three months, all managed independently.
"This will then be followed by an assessment programme,
followed by some sort of amnesty for the players who have been
unfairly compromised, and there'll be rehabilitation for those
players.
"FIFA will engage upon that next year, finished by the
middle of the year and then we will follow the Sepp Blatter
doctrine, which is absolute zero tolerance."
Only those judged to have been "unfairly compromised" would
escape sanction, while there would be no immunity from criminal
prosecution, Eaton said.
He added that Interpol would train, teach and instruct all
players, administrators and officials how to recognise criminals
and a criminal approach, how to resist them and where to report
it.
Asked if FIFA could be trusted to clean up the game given
the recent corruption scandals that have blighted football, Eaton
replied: "Judge it by outcome, not by my words."
Blatter is expected to announce a range of reforms on
Friday, following promises he made at the FIFA Congress when he
was re-elected as president in June.