MFA INTEGRITY OFFICER AT FIFA/INTERPOL WORKSHOP

Franz Tabone, MFA Integrity Officer, was invited to participate and share experiences at the FIFA/Interpol Regional Workshop, “Tackling Match-Fixing and Corruption in Football”, held in Lubljana, Slovenia on 24 – 25 September 2013.   This Workshop was held specifically for East European countries whose FA, League, Players Association and Referees Association representatives together with Law Enforcers and Government representatives participated in this highly informative event. Interpol Consultant, Stuart Cameron-Waller, facilitated the Workshop, with presentations from David Graham , Interpol Training Officer, describing the global picture. Norman Kietzmann from FIFA Early Warning System explained how the system works. Dr Anja Berninger, Sports Lawyer, and Claudio Marinelli, Detective Interpol Rome, dealt with the establishment of good governance and ways for football associations to conduct internal proceedings and optimal communication. Co-operation between football associations and law enforcement was one of the main topics during this session. Franziska Hoberg from FIFA Security Department identified good practice methods and ways of preventing corruption in football. Emphasis was made on the importance of education in this very difficult scenario which demands that co-operation of all stakeholders in football is imperative to tackle criminality at large.