Monthly Archives: February 2022

During this 3-day event, which was organized in the framework of the EU-financed Project Integrisport Erasmus+, the representatives of Lithuanian Law Enforcement and Judiciary had in-depth conversations and were provided with a comprehensive approach on how to combat sport manipulation and how to co-operate with domestic and international stakeholders to tackle this very serious phenomenon.

The issue of sport manipulation was introduced by representatives of Lithuanian competent authorities, such as the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Lithuanian Football Federation and the Gambling Supervisory Authority, and also by international organizations, including EU Athletes, Global Lottery Monitoring System and CSCF Foundation for Sport Integrity, the coordinator of Integrisport Erasmus+.

The Council of Europe, as supporting partner of Integrisport Erasmus+, presented the Convention on Manipulation of Sports Competition and the international aspect of the co-operation in this domain.

Mrs. Kornelija Tiesnesytė, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sport expressed in her opening speech that “it is very important unite forces in fight agains sport integrity threats. Sport is crosssectoral phenomena and I hope this seminar will help Lithuanian law enforcement officers and prosecutors to recognize patterns of match-fixing while investigating other crimes. The seminar is also a chance to strengthen cooperation at national and international level and exchange good practice.”

Norbert Rubicsek, director of CSCF and Integrisport Erasmus+ project manager added, “Criminal procedures in sport manipulation- related cases are unique: they are frequently committed in two or more countries and involve, in some way or another, the competencies of the private sector, of which sport is one. This is why national and trans-national co-operation amongst law enforcement and judiciary and other governmental organizations on the one hand and the private sector on the other hand, is a vital step in the fight against this phenomenon.”

The Integrisport Erasmus+ awareness raising sessions in each partner country give law enforcement officers and judicial authorities the chance to better understand and tackle the dangers of sport manipulation to sport and to society. Project partners include Cyprus Police, Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports (FINCIS), Rapid Response and Special Police Force – Hungary, National Tax and Customs Administration – Hungary, Ministry of Security and Justice – the Netherlands, The Lithuanian Sport Centre– Lithuania, Ministry of Justice – Judicial Police – Portugal, Presidium of the Police Force, Ministry of Interior – Slovak Republic, GLMS – The Global Lottery Monitoring System, EU Athletes, Aix-Marseille University – Centre of Sport and the coordinator, Stichting CSCF – Foundation for Sport Integrity, and the Council of Europe (CoE) as a supporting organisation. Integrisport is also a partner project of the KCOOS+ project of the CoE.

The next awareness raising session will be held in Helsinki in February 2020.

During the 3-day training organized specially for members of the Hungarian Police, as well as the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Hungarian Prosecution Service and judges of the Hungarian Criminal Court, within the EU co-funded project, participants had an open discussion on sport manipulation and match fixing and how this phenomenon has been affecting Hungary. International experts including the Vice Federal Prosecutor of the Belgian Federal Prosecution Service and representatives from the EU Athletes and Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS) and from the coordinator of Integrisport Erasmus+, CSCF-Foundation for Sport Integrity. animated the exchange. Their contributions were accompanied by national expertise from the Hungarian Football Federation, the Hungarian Football Player’s Union, the Hungarian Lottery, Szerencsejáték Zrt, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Hungarian Prosecution Service.

The Hungarian Police and CSCF-Foundation for Sport Integrity also informed the participants of the activities of the Hungarian National Platform related to the Council of Europe Convention on Manipulations of Sports Competitions including international co-operation.

As Lt. Colonel Zita Zmolnik, Deputy Director of the National Investigation Bureau, said in her opening speech: “National and international law enforcement and judicial co-operation, and the common thought of relevant public stakeholders and the private sector, are vital in order to successfully fight against this special type of crime phenomenon.” In order to combat sport manipulation, law enforcement and judicial authorities need to be prepared. This is where Integrisport Erasmus+ has an important role: by providing awareness raising to law enforcement agencies, which is crucial to achieve this aim.

Norbert Rubicsek, director of CSCF and Integrisport Erasmus+ project manager added, “Law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities are the primary stakeholders involved in the investigative and court phases of criminal law cases of manipulations of sports competitions. It is therefore extremely important that on the one hand they are well prepared and informed and on the other hand, that other stakeholders fully understand the role of these key stakeholders. Law enforcement and judiciary are the link to completing the chain in a sports manipulation criminal case and are also a vital link in identifying legislation that needs to be in place to effectively combat manipulations of sports competitions.

The Integrisport Erasmus+ awareness raising sessions in each partner country give law enforcement officers and judicial authorities the possibility to better understand and tackle the dangers of sport manipulation to sport and the society. Project partners include Cyprus Police, Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports (FINCIS), Rapid Response and Special Police Force – Hungary, National Tax and Customs Administration – Hungary, Ministry of Security and Justice – the Netherlands, The Department of Physical Education and Sports – Lithuania, Ministry of Justice – Judicial Police – Portugal, Presidium of the Police Force, Ministry of Interior – Slovak Republic, GLMS – The Global Lottery Monitoring System, EU Athletes, Aix-Marseille University – Centre of Sport and the coordinator, Stichting CSCF – Foundation for Sport Integrity and the Council of Europe (CoE) as a supporting organisation. Integrisport is also a partner project of the KCOOS+ project of the CoE.

The next awareness raising session will be held in Vilnius in December 2019.

During the event, participants discussed the sport manipulation and match-fixing situation in Cyprus and engaged in lively exchange on good practices on fighting the phenomenon. Internationally recognized experts in the field of combating sports manipulations from various organizations, also contributed to the success of the event through concrete presentations. Experts included representatives from EU Athletes, Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS) and CSCF-Foundation for Sport Integrity as well as the law enforcement agencies and prosecutor’s offices of France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The Council of Europe, as a supporting partner of Integrisport Erasmus+ was also represented and delivered a presentation on the Macolin Convention and international co-operation regarding the fight against sport manipulation.

As Mr. Kypros Michaelides, Chief of Cyprus Police shared in his opening speech: “Integrisport Erasmus+project is very important for Cyprus Police and the Cypriot stakeholders in general as there is a need for more information, more coordination and more improvement in the areas of legislation regarding battling manipulations of sports competitions, corruption and the protection of whistle blowers. Integrisport Event is considered a very important initiative to provide awareness for law enforcement in combating sports manipulation and also to improve the discussions on the creation of a National Platform. Esteem speakers from all over EU member states have increased the importance of the three-day event”. The Chief also thanked the famous athletes for taking part in the short film which was prepared for dissemination purposes.

Norbert Rubicsek, director of CSCF, project manager of Integrisport Erasmus+ added: “As tackling sport manipulation requires a multi-stakeholder effort that impacts on so many different legal areas, law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities need to have an in-depth, targeted understanding from the perspectives of other stakeholders and should be able to possess all tools possible to address the issue in investigations and in courts.”

The Integrisport Erasmus+ awareness raising sessions in each partner country give law enforcement officers and judicial authorities the possibility to better understand and tackle the dangers of sport manipulation to sport and the society.

The next awareness raising session will be held in Budapest in November 2019.