It was held in Gibraltar the UEFA Regional Workshop on the topic of match fixing, open not only to the Integrity Officers of the various participating Football Federations, but also to the heads of the national police forces - in the name of an ever deeper synergy in order to counteract potential episodes of combinein the world of football, identified in many jurisdictions as crimes. For the Republic of San Marino, in their respective roles, the lawyerMassimiliano Rosti (Integrity Officer, FSGC) and Captain Gabriele Gatti (San Marino Gendarmerie Corps).
Gibraltar's Minister for Sport, Leslie Bruzon, opened the proceedings on the morning of Tuesday 12 March. The important event was co-organised with the home Football Federation, which greeted the participants through the General Secretary Ivan Robba. The expert in counteracting activities match fixing for UEFA, Stephanie Eichenberger, then actually started an initial discussion involving all those present. Afterwards, we went into the specifics of the planned themes.
It started from investigative ideas, analysis of evidence in cases match fixing and the latest trends connected to these fraudulent episodes. Angela Celestino and Massimiliano Michenzi – respectively Intelligence Manager and Integrity Investigator for UEFA – discuss these topics in depth. There was no lack of analysis of concrete elements, what was theOperation Conifer which led to the arrest of 23 members of an alleged betting network, including some footballers, suspected of having manipulated football matches organized by the Federations of Spain, Gibraltar and Andorra. The joint intervention of the Football Federations involved, as well as UEFA, Europol and the Spanish Police, led to the successful outcome of the operation.
In the late morning we discussed the investigative methods – both in the disciplinary and criminal fields – connected to match fixing, encouraging participants to share daily difficulties, as well as comparing their reality with those of their other European counterparts. After lunch the case of Kynan Isaac, a former footballer disqualified for proven involvement in match-fixing incidents – including in the FA Cup. How the English Football Association handled the issue was detailed by Terik Shamel, Head of Federal Integrity.
The last two speeches, entrusted to David Benford and spread between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, touched on the theme of investigative interrogations – starting from the analysis of the previous experiences of Integrity Officers and law enforcement officers present.
