ZURICH: World football federation FIFA has launched the long-promised ‘hotline’ through which anyone in the game can report suspicions of illicit behaviour – whether corruption in administration of matchfixing approaches.

Called a ‘reporting mechanism’ it supposedly guarantees that complaints, references, reports and notifications will be ‘treated with the strictest confidentiality.’

A statement from FIFA explained: “The decision to launch this online reporting mechanism is part of FIFA’s on-going reform process. FIFA’s regulatory framework is intended to ensure that all statutory rules and rules of conduct are complied with at all times, and without exception by FIFA’s stakeholders, setting standards for legal and ethical behaviour.

“The reporting mechanism will enable individuals to notify FIFA of potential violations, another milestone in FIFA’s effort to strengthen football governance.

“The website: https://www.bkms-system.net/FIFA is a specially secured platform administered by an external provider (Business Keeper AG).”

Reports and references will go direct to Michael Garcia, American chairman of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee.

The proposal to create such a mechanism was raised first during Chris Eaton’s tenure as security director at FIFA.

KEIR RADNEDGE

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