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‘Sports facing exponential corruption crisis on global level’

If we want to have frank discussions about the current state of affairs in sports, we need to address the elephant in the room.

Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) global chief executive officer Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros said this as he called for the implementation of the reforms that the industry required.

“Sports is facing an exponential corruption crisis on a global level. Regrettably, the recent tsunami of criminal investigations and prosecutions show that lessons have not been learnt from what had happened in the past,” de Medeiros said.

He highlighted the 2015 ‘FIFA-gate’ scandal, where 14 individuals were indicted on allegations of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud, as an example.

“Sports needs a paradigm shift. The reforms that sports urgently needs and should have been implemented in the last 20, 15, 10 years, have not been implemented.

“We have to move from rhetoric to meaningful culture change. The need for courage and global leadership is greater than ever,” he added.

de Medeiros said this during SIGA’s Special Session on Global Leadership and Anti-Corruption in Sports, held on Dec 9. The virtual event, organised by the Geneva-based body, was held in conjunction with the International Anti-Corruption Day.

Twentytwo13 is SIGA’s permanent media partner.

Former Italian minister Franco Frattini, who also once served as a European Union commissioner, said the International Anti-Corruption Day was to mark the world’s common objective of eradicating corruption.

Frattini, who is SIGA chairman, said the international integrity body was now focusing on eradicating corruption in sports, which he added, was “being aggravated”.

“Organised crime is attracted to sports because it is a very profitable field,” said Frattini.

“We note the growing phenomena of corruption in many fields of sports. The very recent scandals, including the serious investigations carried out by the Italian police, relating to financial data manipulation, cross-buying, and football players’ transfers to avoid tax payments, continue.

“The G20 Italian Presidency recognised the very important contribution offered by SIGA, by suggesting practical solutions, such as the Sport Integrity and Independent Rating and Verification system (SIRVS).

“We are proud to have provided input to the G20 High Level Principles on Tackling Corruption in Sport.”

SIRVS assesses and rates a sporting organisation’s level of implementation, and compliance of SIGA’s Universal Standards.

Lorenzo Salazar, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development working group on bribery in international transactions deputy chair, welcomed SIGA’s proposal to put in place universal standards on sports integrity.

Salazar, who was also the general prosecutor to the Naples Appeals Court, said the universal standards and SIRVS would be useful in restoring the people’s trust in sports.

The chair of the G20 Italy Anti-Corruption Working Group, Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini, added that corruption distorts the market and undermines the rule of law.

“We need to protect sports from corruption. We have adopted, in the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group Activity, an action plan that views sports as an emerging risk, judging by the propensity for corruption in sports, both at the professional and amateur levels.”

During this special session, SIGA launched the Sport Integrity Journal – an online publication that focuses on matters pertaining to sports integrity.