Federation President: Footballers Detained for Match-Fixing Will Never Play Again

The President of the Georgian Football Federation, Levan Kobiashvili, stressed that together with the Disciplinary Committee, he will make sure that the sportsmen who were detained for fixing the matches and face up to 6 years imprisonment never play football again.

Kobiashvili does not exclude that the football clubs where these sportsmen play will also be punished.

“We, Football Federation and our Disciplinary Committee will definitely discuss this issue and will take strict measures against specific individuals and against the clubs too. Why clubs? Because match-fixing is not a footbthe all federation or my problem only, it is everyone's problem and we all should be united against it, among them clubs and their heads,” Kobiashvili said.

He said the Football Federation is closely observing all the matches in order to avoid such a problem in the future.

The Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSS), as a result of operative-searching and investigative activities, detained 8 active and 3 former footballers on the fact of bribing of the participants of sport competition and fixing the football matches by the players of the second and highest league.

The investigation established that the members of the organized group criminally contacted the footballers of football clubs and in return of the certain amount of money arranged to lose with the rival team through the pre-agreed score with so-called “handicap”- for two or more goals.

The agency said that on April 3, 2019, the footballers of FC “Lanchkhuti’s Guria” bribed by the organized group, participating in the 2nd league of Georgian National Championship on the basis of preliminary agreement, lost with two goals difference the second half of the match between the football club “Tbilisi’s Merani” and “Lanchkhuti’s Guria”.

It also added that similarly, on May 19, 2019, the bribed footballers of FC “Wit Georgia” participating in Georgian National Championship highest league, on the basis of the preliminary agreement, lost with two goals difference with the FC “Batumi Dinamo.”
“The members of the organized criminal group and the footballers received a sum of money in especially large quantities, in total GEL 93 500, as a result of previously fixed-scores,” SSG said. 
The investigation is underway on the fact of bribing of sports competition, Article 203, paragraph III and IV of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which envisage from 4 to 6 years of imprisonment.

By Thea Morrison