FIFA Hands Lifetime Bans to Two English Football Players For Fixing Matches

Lifetime bans were given by FIFA to two English footballers, who were participating in matches fixing in Australia.

Reiss Noel and Joe Woolley, made it into the gambling news, as they pleaded guilty for being part of game fixing scheme in December 2013. Noel and Woolley were both playing for the Victorian Premier League second-tier team Southern Stars.

The first sanction for the players was suspension by the Football Federation of Australia national governing body, which happened right after it was found that they were involved in betting systems, completely against Australian gambling laws.

FIFA’s position

FIFA issued a statement saying: “FIFA continues to work closely with its member associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation.”

It continues: “As part of a 10-year program of collaboration with Interpol, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while e-learning programs are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation.”

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