FIFA security chief leaves in match-fixing blow
Reuters - Friday 17 February 2012, 12:16
FIFA's head of security Chris
Eaton is leaving football's governing body in a potential blow to
the fight against match-fixing.
The Australian former Interpol officer has been at the
forefront of FIFA's campaign against match-fixing and last month
said that 2012 would be a fundamental year in the battle against
one of the biggest threats facing the sport.
Eaton will join the Qatar-based International Centre for
Sport Security as the organisation's director of sport security
in May.
"I am sad to be leaving FIFA, but I am pleased to take with
me an experience and knowledge that only FIFA within the current
environment can provide," Eaton said in a FIFA statement on
Friday.
"I am taking a new challenge that will encompass all sports,
many of which could learn from FIFA's approach to combating
match fixing."
Eaton, initially appointed to look after security issues at
the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, has travelled the world in
the last year leading the campaign against the rigging of games,
which is usually orchestrated by illegal gambling rings.
He has called for greater co-operation from governments and
police, saying that match-fixing is the work of organised
criminal gangs which football's authorities cannot take on alone.
Under Eaton's blunt leadership, FIFA has offered an amnesty
to players who have been involved in match-fixing and come
forward with evidence.
A match-fixing hotline has also been set up and last year
FIFA set up a 10-year agreement with Interpol.
Eaton has warned that criminal gangs are infiltrating
football, setting up youth and referee training academies and
buying small clubs in a bid to extend their influence.
"FIFA remains fully committed to the fight against
match-fixing, an area where it has undertaken pioneering work,"
said the FIFA statement.