ZURICH: A lifetime ban imposed by The Football Association against British player Michael Boateng (from England) in relation to match manipulation has been extended by FIFA to have worldwide effect.

Michael Boateng admitted to charges laid against him by The FA for several breaches of The FA Rules, including accepting a bribe, gift, reward or other consideration which was, or appeared to be, related to seeking to influence the outcome or conduct of a match or competition. The player also admitted to the charge of failing to report the offer made to him. The charges relate to matches in the Conference South in the sixth tier of the English football league system in 2013.

On 13 January 2015, the Regulatory Commission of The FA decided to sanction the player with a lifetime ban from taking part in any football-related activity. The player was informed of the decision and did not lodge an appeal, resulting in the decision becoming final and binding.

The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanction to have worldwide effect, in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136 ff. of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The decision was notified today to The FA and to UEFA. For follow-up questions as to the substance of the decision, media representatives are kindly requested to contact the relevant member association.

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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