FIFA extends sanctions against El Salvador players

FIFA can today confirm the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed on a number of El Salvador players relating to match-manipulation investigations conducted by the El Salvador Football Association.

At present, FIFA has extended sanctions imposed on 14 players who have received a lifetime ban from taking part in any football-related activity and on another two players who received six-month and 18-month bans respectively.

The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions to have worldwide effect in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The Disciplinary Committee of the El Salvador FA decided to impose the sanctions on 19 September 2013. This followed investigations conducted by the El Salvador FA into incidents of match manipulation that occurred in international matches, including friendlies and CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, of the El Salvador national “A” team in 2010, as well as matches involving the El Salvador U-20 national team.

FIFA continues to work closely with its member associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation. As part of a ten-year programme of collaboration with INTERPOL, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while recently launched e-learning programmes are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation to help them to avoid becoming victims of this threat to football integrity.

Other initiatives include the signing of an integrity declaration by officials, the monitoring of the betting market via FIFA’s subsidiary Early Warning System (EWS) and the setting up of an e-learning ethics tool, an integrity hotline and e-mail address, and a confidential reporting system.