ZURICH / PR: FIFA has confirmed the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) on two British players (from England) relating to match manipulation.

The two players, Reiss Michael Noel and Joe Nigel Woolley, had already been sanctioned with an initial ban by the FFA on 23 September 2013 following the opening of criminal investigations by Victoria Police, and those sanctions were extended by FIFA to have worldwide effect on 30 October 2013 in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).

Both players have since been convicted of criminal offences (engaging in conduct and facilitating conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of an event or event contingency) on 6 December 2013. Following these convictions, the FFA conducted disciplinary proceedings and subsequently decided to sanction each player with a lifetime ban from taking part in any football-related activity.

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 FDC.

The decisions by the chairman were duly notified to the respective member associations and confederations on 14 March 2014.

In relation to the same criminal investigations conducted by Victoria Police, two other players from England and one Australian official remain under bans imposed by the FFA, which were extended by the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 30 October 2013.

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.