Fifa claims players are being 'trafficked' to fix matches

The governing body for world football has identified player trafficking as a serious problem as it continues its fight against match-fixing in the gameFifa head of security Chris Eaton has suggested that several players from poor nations are being trafficked in order to facilitate match-fixing.Such claims come in the wake of nine players, seven Zambians and two Georgians, being found guilty of accepting bribes to fix matches in the Finnish league, while Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal has been charged with bribery.It is believed match-fixers target young players from poor nations and promise to help them earn moves to clubs in Europe and South and Central America, demanding in return that they deliberately affect the outcome of matches from which criminal gambling organisations can make huge sums of money."It is a form of trafficking, in my view ? trafficking for criminal purposes," Eaton told The Independent. "There are examples of players who have been abandoned because they did not perform."They [match-fixers] often target people from humble origins. They will go to junior competitions and recruit families of players basically through the attraction of cash."They will invest in the development of players and officials and then they expect payment ? they want their cut."As Fifa vows to put an end to match-fixing in the game, Eaton stressed that prevention is key, while stating that other sports are good examples of what should be done."If I have information that a game is fixed I will try to stop it. We are considering all our options. Fifa is redesigning its regulatory arrangements for international friendlies and competition matches, particularly in qualifiers," he added."These are all capable of being abused by match-fixers. We need to arm federations with good due diligence skills ? so they know whether these people arranging the matches are genuine. Prevention is the primary task."The second is to protect players and officials from the approach of criminals. They need to have somewhere to go in the full knowledge that they will be assisted and supported. The approach of cricket has been excellent ? we will talk more with other sports as well.

Two-time Saudi Arabian champions Al Ettifaq appoint former Iran boss Branko Ivankovic as new coach

Two-time Saudi Arabian champions Al Ettifaq appoint former Iran boss Branko Ivankovic as new coach



The Dammam-based club may have finished the 2010-11 season in third to clinch an Asian Champions League spot but they have now named a new coachFormer Iran coach Branko Ivankovic has been appointed the new coach of two-time Saudi Arabian champions Al Ettifaq.The 57-year-old Croatian has reportedly inked a one-year deal with the club who claimed a spot in the 2012 AFC Champions League (ACL) after a third-place finish in the 2010-11 Saudi Pro League.Ivankovic, who last coached Chinese club Shandong Luneng before being dismissed after their ACL earlier this year, replaces Tunisian boss Youssef Zouaoui at Al Ettifaq.The new Al Ettifaq boss has also had previous coaching jobs at Dinamo Zagreb, Hannover 96 and NK Rijeka, along with a stint as the assistant of the Croatian national team when the side finished third at the 1998 Fifa World Cup.The Dammam-based club, who competed in the 2009 ACL, haven't won a major piece of silverware since claiming the 2006 Gulf Club Champions Cup.

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