Zimbabwean player suspended for prohibited

Zurich, Oct 15, 2013: Substance, The FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided on 10 October to sanction the Zimbabwean international player Chafa Devon Taitamba, who had been provisionally suspended in August for an anti-doping rule violation following a doping control conducted after the match of the preliminary competition of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ played in Harare, Zimbabwe on 9 June 2013.

The player has been declared ineligible for a period of six months after testing positive for prednisone – a substance included on WADA’s 2013 Prohibited List under the class “S9. Glucocorticosteroids”.

By testing positive for a prohibited substance, the player has violated article 6 of the FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations. As such, he has contravened article 63 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The suspension period starts from 30 August 2013, the date from which the player was provisionally suspended by the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. The suspension covers all types of matches, including domestic, international, friendly and official fixtures. The concerned party has been duly notified today.

FIFA extends sanctions against El Salvador players

FIFA can today confirm the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed on a number of El Salvador players relating to match-manipulation investigations conducted by the El Salvador Football Association.

At present, FIFA has extended sanctions imposed on 14 players who have received a lifetime ban from taking part in any football-related activity and on another two players who received six-month and 18-month bans respectively.

The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the sanctions to have worldwide effect in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The Disciplinary Committee of the El Salvador FA decided to impose the sanctions on 19 September 2013. This followed investigations conducted by the El Salvador FA into incidents of match manipulation that occurred in international matches, including friendlies and CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, of the El Salvador national “A” team in 2010, as well as matches involving the El Salvador U-20 national team.

FIFA continues to work closely with its member associations and the confederations to tackle match manipulation. As part of a ten-year programme of collaboration with INTERPOL, regional workshops involving key stakeholders are being held all over the world while recently launched e-learning programmes are also helping to educate players, coaches and referees on the dangers of match manipulation to help them to avoid becoming victims of this threat to football integrity.

Other initiatives include the signing of an integrity declaration by officials, the monitoring of the betting market via FIFA’s subsidiary Early Warning System (EWS) and the setting up of an e-learning ethics tool, an integrity hotline and e-mail address, and a confidential reporting system. —- FIFA