The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the National Police signed a collaboration agreement this Wednesday that includes various actions against illegal gambling and in matters of preventing violence in football.
The president of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, and the director general of the National Police, Francisco Pardo, signed the commitment, “aware that sports manipulation is a form of corruption linked for the most part to organized crime and bearing in mind that the institutions are committed to actively combat it,” said the RFEF.
Through a communication and information exchange mechanism, the objective is to control the betting markets on football matches, as well as fraudulent activitiess to alter the results and circumstances of the matches, in addition to preventing and fighting violence.
For this, the General Directorate of the Police will designate in its general police stations for Citizen Security and Judicial Police the contact points that will discuss these matters with the RFEF, through its Integrity Department.
Training courses and seminars will also be held for members of the Police who perform functions related to theinvestigation and prosecution of sports fraud and information and experiences will be exchanged regarding prevention of racism, xenophobia, intolerance, violence and homophobiaa in the world of soccer and futsal.
The Police will establish a direct channel available to the RFEF 24 hours a day to receive complaints on both cases.
The Director General of the Police, Francisco Pardo, said that the protocol “is a tool to eradicate the rejectable behaviors that can occur in our day to day.”
“What we have done today is respond to these frauds and violence in the beautiful game,” he said, while Luis Rubiales He highlighted the help of the Police so that “many games go ahead every weekend.” “We are two institutions that go hand in hand and for us it is a huge honor to have you here, you are a school to look at with pride,” he added.