FIFA Keeps Watchful Eye on Betting Scandals

The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) is taking extra measures to ensure legitimate competition at the World Cup because widespread corruption is suspected in the form of betting and match-fixing, The New York Times reports.

The article states players, referees and coaches are required to sign pledges that neither they nor their immediate families will bet on the competition. FIFA has also created a company called Early Warning System that will work with the international gaming industry to identify attempts to manipulate the outcome.

However, few details are being made public, the Times reports, and FIFA officials said they are concerned about the amount of Internet gambling and the influence of Asian betting syndicates. If any suspicious betting patterns are observed, they might take pre-emptive action.

“A number of scandals have affected football—for instance, the problem with the referees,” Joseph S. Blatter, the president of FIFA, said this week at a news conference in Munich. “When you see a circle drawn, the referee is at the heart of it.”

The 81 referees and assistant referees for the World Cup are being housed in a wooded area outside Frankfurt. There are no other hotel guests except airline staff and known regular guests, the Times reports. Security guards and police are stationed outside, and referees are not allowed to receive phone calls in their rooms from outside the hotel.

For future competitions, the Times states that FIFA will establish an independent ethics committee to curb corruption scandals that threaten fair play.

For more on World Cup security, read Security Watch on the World Cup.

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Compiled by Paul Kerstein