By Nick Harris 19 March 2010 The Ukrainian referee banned from football for life last night for being “in breach of the principles of loyalty and integrity” of Uefa’s rules was part of a hand-picked elite that the European governing body used to pioneer the new, “fairer”, six-person teams of officials at Europa League matches […]

By Nick Harris 16 March 2010 Fifa has launched a preemptive strike against those who might seek to corrupt the bidding process to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments with bribes by writing to remind all the bidding nations “that they have signed regulations to respect fair play in this contest”. The World […]

24 February 2010 Uefa, football’s governing body for Europe, has confirmed it has banned for life a referee from Bosnia Herzegovina, Novo Panić, and suspended two others after information received during ongoing investigations by German police into match-fixing across Europe. Michel Platini, Uefa’s president, has spoken today on the cases today, saying: “I promised strong […]

By Nick Harris 1 February 2010 A UK government report into sports-related betting corruption in Britain, published today, recommends the formation of a pan-sport integrity unit to gather intelligence on suspicious cases and co-ordinate the response.  It is generally accepted that Britain does not have a widespread problem with betting-related corruption but it has been […]

12 January 2010 News that the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) has fined Russia’s fined Ekaterina Bychkova $5,000 and banned her for 30 days for not reporting an approach about match-fixing has only been widely dispersed now that John McEnroe has spoken out on the issue. That was a report from Seattle yesterday, and an example […]

7 January 2010 The British sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has announced plans today for new laws that will require all gambling firms that do business in the UK – even if they are based overseas – to operate under licenses granted by the Gambling Commission, the industry watchdog for Britain. The plans are subject to […]

Exclusive By Nick Harris 26 December 2009 The VIP guest list for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will include a pioneering player who played for Coventry City, Cardiff and Barnsley among many stops in a colourful, controversial career that has also included fierce criticism of his native South African FA. Steve Mokone was […]