Highlights

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Considering that match-fixing "contradicts the fundamental values of sport" and thus is "one of the most significant threat to contemporary sport", ministers in charge of sports adopted on 29 November 2011 conclusions on combating this form of fraud. They advocated appropriate, effective and dissuasive sanctions and actions at EU level.

The sanctions will include "criminal and/or disciplinary ones". As regards the actions, those taken at EU level will complement those  "carried out by the sports movement, public authorities and betting operators". Ministers also stressed the importance of good governance.

Different actors and stakeholders were called upon to encourage the development of educational programmes, cooperation and information sharing, to look into the possibility of studies, to include provisions on the need to co-operate in relevant international agreements and to consider a political declaration.

In all these cases, the limits set by the competences of these actors and stakeholders, their autonomy and internal structure, as well as the principle of subsidiarity, have to be taken into account. Similar considerations apply as regards, for instance, the testing of transnational projects supporting the prevention of match-fixing, the inclusion of relevant provisions in international agreements and the consideration of a public declaration to be made by public authorities, the sports movement and betting operators.

The European Commission was asked to consider launching a study mapping out the situation both in the EU and beyond, to promote the fight against match-fixing in the framework of its dialogue with sport stakeholders, and to consider "testing transnational projects in support of the prevention of match-fixing".

The fight against match-fixing is one of the priority themes mentioned in the EU Work Plan for Sport.

More information:
Council Conclusions on combating match-fixing (pdf)
Press release (pdf)
Resolution on a European Union Work Plan for Sport for 2011-2014 (pdf)
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