A meeting of the UAF, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the NOC and clubs on combating manipulation in sports and match-fixing t

On Tuesday, the interdepartmental working group of the National Sports Integrity Platform and the Ukrainian Football Association met with representatives of the Premier League and Ukrainian Premier League clubs at the Football House in Kyiv to discuss countering manipulation in sports.

The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Football Association, Premier League clubs, the Professional Football League, the Women's and Girls' Football Department, the Futsal Association of Ukraine, the Beach Football Association of Ukraine, and members of the National Sports Integrity Platform.

Yuriy Muzyka, First Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and Pavlo Boychuk, First Vice President of the UAF, welcomed the more than 70 participants.

"Let me greet you on behalf of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyi. It is very pleasant to see the wide presence of the Ukrainian football community in this hall. There is no doubt that manipulation of sports competitions and match-fixing is a huge challenge for sports today. We have witnessed numerous investigations and scandals related to the violation of fair play in sports. The sports sector is facing an urgent task of increasing the number of legislative, institutional and technical levers to help detect violations. Recently, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the UAF adopted a memorandum of cooperation and information exchange aimed at developing cooperation in matters related to countering manipulation in sports. I am confident that only through joint efforts we will be able to achieve the best results," said Yuriy Muzyka.

"I welcome everyone on behalf of the President of the Ukrainian Football Association Andriy Shevchenko. Today we have gathered for an important discussion that is of paramount importance for the development of sports in Ukraine. We have met with representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Sports Integrity Platform, and professional clubs to consider countering manipulation in sports. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, whose support and active participation in this area is extremely important. We also appreciate the support of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the National Sports Integrity Platform. Your proactive position in ensuring the integrity and transparency of Ukrainian sport commands respect. I look forward to continued cooperation and new joint achievements," said Pavlo Boychuk.

Vincent Wen, Head of UEFA's Anti-Match-fixing Unit, also addressed the audience online with a welcoming speech.

"It is a great pity that I cannot be with you today, but please be assured that I will come to Ukraine as soon as possible. Your meeting today is focused on an issue that is at the heart of every competition, including those under the auspices of UEFA - the integrity of sport. Football is not just a game, it is a global language that unites people in all corners of the world. This unity may be threatened by the problem of match-fixing. Integrity in football is essential. It ensures that the sport remains fair and competitive. To protect the integrity of football, strong action must be taken against match-fixing. UEFA's strategy and efforts are based on a network of 55 Integrity Officers - one for each national association. The Ukrainian Football Association is no exception in this regard. I would like to thank the UAF for its efforts in such a difficult environment. It is very important that Ukraine has ratified the Macaulay Convention (the Council of Europe Convention against Manipulation of Sports Competitions, adopted by 47 member states - ed.) and is developing a national integrity platform in its country," Vincent Wen emphasized.

Oleksiy Perevezentsev, First Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, emphasized the important role of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine in the fight against manipulation in sports.

"The NOC has been an active participant in the National Platform for Sports Integrity since its inception. I would describe the problem of manipulation in simple words: "Match-fixing kills a sporting event". It is a complete influence on its course for commercial gain. Unfortunately, the problem is quite widespread and devalues sport as such. The global sports movement cannot ignore such issues and is actively implementing various tools to combat this negative phenomenon. The main legal document in this area is the Macaulay Convention, which Ukraine was one of the first countries to ratify. We are currently working on strengthening the liability for match-fixing under the Criminal Code and this work will be completed by the end of this year. Separately, the International Olympic Committee has introduced its own code that applies to all sports. Its essence is that it is forbidden to place bets on matches of their teams, it is forbidden to share insider information about injuries, game tactics, etc. This information should remain internal. Teams must also report any attempts by unauthorized persons or participants in sporting events, referees, coaches, or players to influence the outcome of a match. Failure to report, i.e. inaction, is also considered a violation," said Oleksiy Perevezentsev.

Andriy Davydenko, Chairman of the UAF Ethics and Fair Play Committee, made a report on the activities of the Ukrainian Football Association in the area of ethics and integrity.

"Today I am presenting our UAF committee. I have worked for 20 years in the National Police of Ukraine and for the last eight years have been focused on combating match-fixing in our country. In 2018, we had a great resonance in this particular case. We identified clubs that had problems with such issues. At that time, it was more than half of the Premier League teams. As a result, the largest operation in the history of Ukraine was conducted, there were more than 300 people involved in the criminal case. Many of them were detained and punished. Several referees were also detained and subsequently suspended from football by the SCC. Recently, the Cyber Police Department checked 45 regions of Ukraine and found many cases of organizing contract matches in esports, table tennis, basketball, and volleyball. In football, too. We will provide you with all the information in due course. We have been working as a team in the UAF since April 1 this year and have already developed plans and a strategy that we will implement," said Andriy Davydenko.

Later, the participants discussed the issue of match-fixing and other manipulations of sports competitions at the national and international levels and the activities of the National Sports Integrity Platform.

"In my opinion, the participants of the meeting from the clubs were very attentive to what the speakers of this event were saying. We understand that people are not indifferent to these topics and are ready to talk even about unpleasant things that once happened in the clubs. There are some suspicions of involvement in manipulation. At the same time, we saw a willingness to fight this, so we thank the team representatives for their active participation in the meeting. I hope that we will establish direct contacts with them and cooperate to eradicate various manipulations in the football environment. In this regard, we are pleased with our cooperation with the Ukrainian Football Association. We see the willingness of the UAF leadership to expose the facts of integrity violations if they occur. There is an understanding of the need to carry out preventive work and educational activities, and we cooperate very well in this regard. We will synchronize our efforts, so we thank the UAF leadership for its active role," said Natalia Radchuk, Secretary of the National Sports Integrity Platform interagency working group.

"This event was a good opportunity to remind people once again about the importance of fair play and ethical standards. To highlight the problem that has not yet disappeared. The problem of corruption in sports and football in particular. This is an opportunity to communicate with the clubs and convey the need for awareness of this problem. We have good legislation, so we actually have everything to be successful in this regard. The only question is its application. The main point is to raise awareness of the consequences so that people understand what awaits them and, accordingly, the risks. As you know, match-fixing, like all corruption, is often linked to organized crime. We are currently rebooting the Ethics and Fair Play Committee. We are trying to implement educational digital solutions, have launched a chatbot, presented a virtual fair play academy and will try to go as far as possible on the path of digitalization and early warning of corruption violations," said Andrii Nekrutov, a member of the Ethics and Fair Play Committee.

For their part, representatives of professional clubs in Ukraine emphasized the importance of such meetings in the fight against manipulation in sports.

"Fortunately, there is no such problem in Oleksandriya and I hope it will not exist. At the same time, I would like to note that this was a very important and necessary event aimed at improving the situation in our football. I like the modern approach of the new leadership of the Ethics and Fair Play Committee, I like their openness. We will always be ready to cooperate, to do everything to ensure that there are no problems with manipulation in our football," said FC Oleksandriya analyst Yevhen Gres.

"I believe that today's meeting was really useful. The topic of match-fixing needs to be raised, worked on and kept under control. It is very important. At Kolos, we understand that there should always be an honest result in sports, and our club is only for integrity in football. I think that such events should be held in the future. We need to provide people with some education, organize conferences on this issue. We need to work not only with the club management, but also with the players and staff," said Vitalii Lysytskyi, FC Kolos sporting director.

"This is a very relevant event, which was held as part of the implementation of the relevant program of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the NOC and the UAF. The presence of all club representatives without exception is very important. It was especially nice to meet the new members of the Ethics and Fair Play Committee. I think that we will cooperate to implement this program not only on paper but also within sports competitions in Ukraine. We believe that we need to constantly take measures that will affect the implementation of fair play. So that there is no desire to join the manipulation of the results," said Maksym Pestriak, a representative of FC Vorskla.

"We were very pleased to see our colleagues and talk to them. The Ethics and Fair Play Committee reminded us of the existence of match-fixing, although there are far fewer of them in Ukraine today than in 2018. Such events are very necessary. It is very positive to talk face to face. Why are there problems with manipulation? Sometimes, and especially for young players who see that someone else is better dressed or has an expensive car, they want quick money. They can be tempted to take part in such events. Therefore, if we properly inform young players about the possible consequences, this will not happen. Those who want to build a career for the future, not just for one day, will understand everything," says Oleksandr Chaban, technical director of the Cherkasy LNZ.