FIFA extends sanctions imposed by Austrian and Iranian FAs in relation to match manipulation

FIFA can today confirm the extension of sanctions imposed by the Austrian Football Association (OFB) and the IR Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) in relation to match manipulation.

The OFB has sanctioned two Austrian players for violating the integrity regulations of the OFB by unlawfully trying to influence the results of a number of matches of the Austrian championship. Dominique Taboga was sanctioned with a lifetime ban from all football-related activities, while Thomas Zundel was banned from all football-related activities for a period of 12 months.

In Iran, the Disciplinary Committee of the IRIFF has sanctioned inter alia an Iranian official (coach), Mohammad Reza Molaei, and an Iranian match official (referee), Mohsen Ghahremani, with bans of six and eight months respectively after being charged with "interference in the corruption" and "unsporting behaviour and illegal relations" respectively. The two cases were related to a match of the Iran Pro League.

In the above cases, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions to have worldwide effect in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The decisions by the chairman have been duly notified to the respective member associations.

FIFA continues to work closely with its member associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation. As part of a ten-year programme of collaboration with INTERPOL, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while recently launched e-learning programmes are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation to help them to avoid becoming victims of this threat to football integrity.

Other initiatives include the signing of an integrity declaration by officials, the monitoring of the betting market via FIFA’s subsidiary Early Warning System (EWS) and the setting up of an e-learning ethics tool, an integrity hotline and e-mail address and a confidential reporting system

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