Greece and Cyprus submit joint proposal for a new convention on sport

Cyprus and Greece have submitted a joint proposal for a new Convention which would safeguard the integrity of sport.

The proposal was tabled during a Council of Europe (CoE) Sports Ministers’ Conference in Belgrade, on March 13-14, entitled ''The promotion of the integrity of sport against match-fixing.”

Speaking during the discussion, Cyprus Sport Organisation President Pambos Stylianou said the phenomenon of match-fixing is associated with illegal betting and it is getting constantly worse.

''The current financial crisis affects sport in a negative manner, as it creates an environment in which corruption can thrive and increase dramatically. Under these circumstances, our reaction should be a new convention to create the platform to tackle the threat to our sport heritage,'' he said.

On his part Greek Secretary-General for Sport Panos Bitsaxis stressed the need for a convention which would enable the governments of the CoE member states to intervene in issues related to the integrity of sport.

UEFA President Michel Platini has described match-fixing as an offence against public order, which cannot be resolved using the resources of sports bodies alone.

''We need to act quickly and unequivocally. I therefore request immediate assistance from the member-states of the CoE: match-fixing must be made a criminal offence. I insist, match-fixing must be outlawed. There must be no sanctuary for match fixers. We must put an end to organised cheating,'' he remarked.