ZURICH: A lower-division player in England is among the latest footballer suspended worldwide by FIFA over matchfixing allegations.

Moses Swaibu had been handed an interim suspension by the Football Association after being charged by the UK National Crime Agency with the criminal offence of conspiracy to defraud. This has been extended internationally.

Swaibu, a former Conference South player, from south London, is currently on unconditional bail from Birmingham magistrates until he is due to appear with four other men at the city’s crown court on March 7.

FIFA has also ratified internationally the decision by the appeals committee of the national federation in Slovakia reject pleas against suspension from players Marek Božoň and Ivan Žiga.

The two have been suspended for 18 years and 25 years respectively. The suspensions are in connection with manipulation of several matches in the Slovak top division last season.

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

“As part of a 10-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.”