Wednesday sees the first of two Integrity Workshops organised by the FSGC

It was the President of the San Marino Football Federation, Marco Tura, who opened proceedings at the first of two training and educational meetings on the prevention of match-fixing, collusion and manipulation of football results – organised by the FSGC with the collaboration of the San Marino Gendarmerie Corps and coordinated by the Federation’s Integrity Officer, lawyer Massimiliano Rosti. “Prevention is the aim of these meetings,” said President Tura, “and even San Marino football has not been immune in the recent past from practices aimed at manipulating the regular outcome of matches. That is why prevention is better than cure”. He was followed by the Commander of the Gendarmerie Corps and Director of the Interpol National Central Bureau of the Republic of San Marino, Maurizio Faraone, who made no secret of the fact that “the Republic of San Marino has recently been affected by corrupt phenomena, not only in football. Prevention – Faraone agreed – certainly comes before repression. Sports justice and criminal justice work in synergy, both at national and international level; in the latter case thanks to Interpol’s activities. One of Interpol’s internal divisions deals specifically with Integrity in sport and workshops like these are held in every country. The message that must come across,” Faraone stressed firmly, “is that in San Marino too, interaction between national and international police forces and sports bodies is strong and fundamental in the fight against phenomena that harm the integrity of sport”. In his role as Integrity Officer for the San Marino FA, lawyer Massimiliano Rosti then outlined to those present the sporting and criminal regulations on match-fixing and collusion. “Knowing the regulations means protecting yourself,” Rosti underlined, “as well as being fully aware of the limits imposed by the strict rules in this area, and of the severe consequences that any breach of them may entail.” Through a digital presentation, the Integrity Officer drew the attention of presidents, football and futsal coaches, captains of both sports within each club, and an equal number of club officials to various types of conduct: those that must be followed and those that must be avoided in order not to fall into the offence of sports fraud which – for some time now, and thanks also to the active and constructive support of the FSGC – has been established as a criminal offence in San Marino. Particular focus was placed on Article 6 of the Disciplinary Regulations, concerning the Prohibition of betting and obligation to report, and the subsequent Article 7 relating to Sporting offences and obligation to report – as far as sports justice is concerned. Significant space and emphasis were also devoted to setting out the law included in the Criminal Code on the Regulation of sports fraud and the unlawful organisation of games or betting (Law 167/2018), which clearly defines the offence of sports fraud (Art. 204 quinquies). Also discussed were the Relations between Sports Justice and Ordinary Justice, as well as the Obligation to report (Arts. 60 bis and 60 ter). The evening concluded with a productive exchange of views, questions and answers between participants and speakers. Finally, President Tura, in bidding farewell to those present, reiterated the fundamental importance of information and prevention on matters of sporting integrity. Representatives of the remaining clubs, in accordance with the schedule set by the Federation, will take part in the second Integrity Workshop to be held at the Casa del Calcio on Thursday 15 December 2022.

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