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Sports Ministry To Cooperate With AFC To Root Out Match-fixing

KUALA TERENGGANU, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- The Youth and Sport Ministry is prepared to help and cooperate with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to root out match-fixing in the region.

Its Minister, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, said corruption and match-fixing in football were cross-boundary crimes which no country could fight alone.

He said the setting up of a task force by AFC to help combat match-fixing was apt.

"AFC had taken appropriate action and we are prepared to help," he said when met after handing over the 1Malaysia Book vouchers and launching of the IM4U Outreach Centre at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, here.

Shabery said Malaysia was firm in wanting to eliminate corruption and match-fixing and would cooperate with all quarters to root out the problem.

Yesterday, AFC announced the setting up of a task force to combat corruption and match-fixing. It was set up a day after an INTERPOL-led conference.

AFC secretary-general Datuk Alex Soosay, in a statement, said the team would work with all interested parties and teach affiliates how to eradicate the practice.

Early this month, an anti-crime agency in Europe stated that the outcomes of hundreds of football matches globally were fixed through a syndicate in Singapore.

Last Thursday, Italian police detained a former football player, aged 31, from Slovenia who was connected to the head of a syndicate which fixed matches, after the former player surrendered himself.

-- BERNAMA

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