FIFA Extends 27 Sanctions in Relation to Match Manipulation to Have Worldwide Effect

FIFA confirmed today the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed on 27 players concerning match manipulation-related proceedings conducted by the Estonian Football Association (EFA), the Latvian Football Federation (LFF), the Swedish Football Association (SVFF) and the Czech Republic Football Association (FACR).

The EFA Disciplinary Committee, which met on 5 December 2014, sanctioned 21 players with bans from taking part in any football-related activities. The sanctions included: nine lifetime bans, two bans for six years (until 5 December 2020), six bans for four years (until 5 December 2018), two bans for two years (until 5 December 2016) and two bans for one year (until 5 December 2015). Some of the players sanctioned by the EFA Disciplinary Committee in December 2014 had been previously sanctioned on a provisional basis. Of the players sanctioned, 16 are Estonian nationals and the remaining five have “undefined citizenship” (which, according to the Estonian FA, is a term used to denote a post-Soviet form of statelessness). The sanctions related to the manipulation of matches in the Estonian top league, the Meistriliiga, the Estonian Cup and Estonian U–21 national team matches. Four of the players appealed against the decisions taken by the EFA Disciplinary Committee and, on 12 January 2015, the EFA Appeals Committee rejected their appeals.