- FIFPRO President David Aganzo and Legal Director Roy Vermeer spoke at latest IntegriSport 3.0 event at the National Police Complex in Madrid, Spain
- President Aganzo presented from a player perspective the issues of match-fixing in Spain
- “What we must do at all times is protect the players, who are often the victims in these situations,” said Aganzo
FIFPRO President David Aganzo and Legal Director Roy Vermeer were both present at the latest IntegriSport 3.0 Awareness Raising Practical Session (ARPS) at the National Police Complex in Madrid, Spain last week. The event was organised by CSCF Foundation for Sports Integrity along with the Spanish National Centre of Police for Integrity in Sports and Betting (CENPIDA).
More than 100 officials from various departments of Policia Nacional and the country’s Ministry of Interior gathered in the Spanish capital for practical seminars on tackling sport manipulation.
Speaking on a panel alongside AFE Secretary General Diego Rivas and Head of Legal Services Maria Jose Lopez, FIFPRO President David Aganzo presented from a player perspective the issues of match-fixing in Spain, where he also serves as AFE President, and the need to protect players.
Aganzo said: "Unfortunately, match-fixing and sport manipulation is a problem at both national and international level. It is complex, and many players are susceptible to being a target for organised crime.
"Things are very different for footballers today compared to how it was when I was a player: there is much more education, and there's more to learn from other athletes in other sports like basketball. Not all players have access to this knowledge, so that is where we as unions provide support.
"What we must do at all times is aim to protect the players, who are often the victims in these situations, and it is something that both FIFPRO and AFE are wanting to eradicate."
Meanwhile, Vermeer discussed how match-fixing affects footballers using the case studies of Samir Arab, Igor Labuts and Ofosu Appiah, and how players can be protected through education, good governance, and reporting tools such as the Red Button app.
What is IntegriSport 3.0?
Integrisport 3.0 is a project established by CSCF Foundation for Sports Integrity to provide theoretical and practical support for law enforcement and judiciaries in Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Romania, and Spain, co-financed by the European Union, on fighting sport manipulation.
The inaugural awareness-raising practical session marked the commencement of this project and the 15th edition of the successful Integrisport program, reaching nearly two-thirds of EU countries' law enforcement and judiciaries in the last four-and-a-half years.
CSCF Foundation for Sport Integrity Director Norbert Rubicsek said: "Our dedication to upholding the purity of sports has propelled us to organise this ground-breaking event. We firmly believe that by fostering cooperation among all stakeholders, we can forge a resilient framework to combat sport manipulation and safeguard the values that make sports so special."
