Brian Lewis, the chairman of the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA)-Gender, Race, Inclusion, and Diversity (GRID) Sports Committee is calling on the T&T Football Association to address allegations urgently of match-fixing that have been brought to them.
The scourge of match-fixing which has negatively impacted nearly every major professional sports league in the world, especially football and cricket, has reared its ugly head in local football.
Guaya United coach, Travis Mulraine, has called on the TTFA to investigate concerns of match-fixing which has emerged in the local game, admitting that he has had to get rid of five players who were determined to be the culprits.
Incredibly, Mulraine told Guardian Media Sports that when informed about the possibility of games being fixed in Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the local Premier Football League, rather than launch an immediate investigation, the TTFA’s response was for them (Guaya) to provide the evidence first.
This approach was rubbished by Lewis, who said: “Now that the coach of Guaya United has made such an allegation, to simply say to bring the evidence is tantamount to hiding your heads in the sand.
"Allegations of match-fixing in local football is something that the TTFA must address and take seriously. It is not the first time that there have been those allegations, and the reality is that it is well established that there is an international betting syndicate, and SIGA has been speaking about it, advocating and trying to get authorities all over the world to address the threat and the issue."
The immediate past president of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) went on, "It is something that the TTFA, Concacaf, the Caribbean Football Union), and all the relevant authorities must take seriously and address. I am sure that the SIGA will be more than happy to assist in whatever way it can, as like everything else negative, it must be nipped in the bud. We cannot turn a blind eye and not take it seriously or address it, as it is a cause for grave concern."
As to the local match-fixing, Mulraine, a former national midfielder now turned coach, described it as being run by an international betting syndicate that allows local players to be paid based on the results of their matches.
He believes the TTFA should do more than just ask them for concrete proof, “The only form of evidence we had was from people who spoke about the actual players placing bets, followed by the results of the games. I believe once an allegation of that nature has been reported, the TTFA should do everything in its power to investigate it."
SIGA, a Geneva, Switzerland-based non-profit global independent organization, is considered the world's leading organisation for Sport Integrity and is co-chaired by Karin Korb.
SOURCE: T&T Guardian