Integrity: Rosti at conference on cooperation between law enforcement and sports authorities

Last Tuesday 26 April saw the staging of the joint conference organised by UEFA and Europol on the theme of "Developing operational cooperation between law enforcement agencies and football integrity stakeholders", attended – on behalf of the San Marino Football Federation – by lawyer Massimiliano Rosti, Integrity Officer within the FSGC. Various topics were addressed, all revolving around the core issue of improving communication and operations carried out by state and sporting authorities, with a view to preventing, monitoring and intervening in relation to potential or confirmed cases of combine or match-fixing. The discussion was broad and well attended, featuring representatives from Europol and UEFA such as Sergio D'Orsi, Head of Europol’s Anti-Corruption Unit, and Vincent Ven, Head of UEFA’s Anti-Match-Fixing Unit. In addition to regulatory and educational aspects, the current situation regarding match-fixing risks linked to European football was examined. Among the most significant contributions was a presentation given by Inspector Oscar Pérez Peña (Head of the Spanish National Police Centre for Sports Integrity and Betting, CENPIDA) and the Integrity Officer of the Spanish Football Federation, Alfredo Mena Lorenzo. During the hour available, thanks also to the input of Massimiliano Michenzi (Integrity Investigator for UEFA) and José Ignacio Arbea Saras (Integrity and Security Department for LaLiga), the discussion focused on the cooperation between various public and private actors in the fight against match-fixing, revisiting best-practice examples in which this synergy has been effectively developed, as well as analysing the various operational challenges posed by this multi-level collaboration across different lines of responsibility and command.

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