The law to deal with the manipulation of sporting events was finally passed, by a majority and with the Members of Parliament expressing reservations about the effectiveness of the institutional framework introduced in the law of Cyprus.
The law was passed by the Plenary Session of the Parliament with 26 votes in favor, 2 against (EDEK) and 15 abstentions (AKEL and Michalis Giorgallas- George Papadopoulos of Solidarity).
Before the bill was passed into law, amendments were passed, one of which included in the law the individual struggles and the struggles organized by natural persons. The amendment was tabled by DIKO and EDEK.
EDEK amendments that were also voted concern the restriction of the possibility of abusive exercise of the powers of the committee regarding issues that do not fall within its competencies, enabling the committee to provide a court decree to disclose information in case of refusal to provide it. possible direct or indirect connection of athletes or sports agents with betting and / or sports activities.
AKEL amendments were also voted, which, as mentioned, are intended to ensure better implementation of the law and the constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens.
The legislation introduces manipulation as a criminal offense and provides for imprisonment of up to 7 years and a fine of up to € 200 thousand, while for the offenses of bribery and extortion is provided for imprisonment of 5 years and a fine of € 100 thousand. At the same time, it may be required return of profits secured through match-fixing.
An important provision of the bill concerns the establishment of an ethics committee, which will be composed of members of the sports field, which will have the role of a platform for the exchange of information between EU Member States but at the same time, will be able to collect information and act ex officio on its dossier. UEFA.
The commission will not have the power to take statements itself but will report to the Attorney General who will decide whether to refer the case to the prosecuting authorities.
One of the main provisions of the bill is the prohibition of direct or indirect participation in the bet, to athletes, coaches and team members, if this concerns their team or other teams in the same league category, while at the same time, measures are provided to protect athletes who complaints.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, who discussed the bill, Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, said that during the discussion of the bill, an attempt was made to supplement the bill to solve problems that exist in Cypriot football, which presents a bad and bad image. He added that a new mechanism is being introduced that provides the state with resources to deal with the manipulation of sports games and said that if necessary, the state will proceed with additional actions, legislation or policy actions.
He also expressed the view that the AKEL amendment erodes the legislation.
AKEL MP Giorgos Georgiou Larnakas spoke about shortcomings in the legislation, ambiguities, sloppiness and malfunctions, adding that there are signs of potential unconstitutionality. Aristos Damianou, of the same party, said that despite the improvements made to the bill and the amendments, his inability to meet the challenges in the scandal called the manipulation of sporting events has not changed.
DIKO MP Christos Orfanidis, referring to the initial position of DISY not to vote for an amendment, wondered what prevents the ruling party from including in the law and individual sports. He added that large sums and bets are played in individual sports and warned to be careful not to suffer like Malta.
EDEK President Marinos Sizopoulos said the framework does not cover concerns about manipulation in sports that do not only concern football.
He added that his party's amendments ensure that information will not be withheld and that the direct connection of athletes and actors with illegal activities is prevented.
Solidarity Movement MP Michalis Giorgallas also spoke about shortcomings in the bill, further stating that the pre-arranged games have a turnover of 200 million per year, clarifying that these are the established ones and not the black ones.
The Minister of Justice welcomes the passage of the bill
The Minister of Justice and Public Order Ionas Nikolaou welcomed the vote by the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives of the bill submitted by the Government regarding the fight against the manipulation of sporting events, saying that it is a bill that concerns the framework for tackling corruption.
In a statement, the Minister states that many, many times have complained that there are sporting events that are manipulated or referred to as "rigged games". Let me remind you that we had the UEFA files, but also complaints from other people. In the effort to deal with these phenomena, we proceeded with the preparation of the specific bill. I would like to thank the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Culture that promoted it and the majority of the members of Parliament that voted for it ".
Despite the fact that, he said, we have accepted almost all the suggestions that have been made, amending the bill in order to have a greater consensus, it seems that this was not reached in its entirety.
"However, I would like to thank even those who voted against it for their contribution. I want to believe that the provisions of the bill will be used and this will be our effort, that all sports bodies, including the parties, will show confidence, so that in the context of it we can have concrete results in dealing with the manipulation of sporting events. in Cyprus "he said.
The Minister states that "on Monday, we were invited to present the bill in Paris, in the Action Plan for Combating Staged Matches of the Council of Europe because it is considered a pioneering piece of legislation that includes effective provisions to address such phenomena. These are phenomena that concern the EU countries and that is why there was the signing of the relevant Convention, on which the bill was based ".
Source: goal.com.cy