FFA Chief says Match-Fixers Face Lifetime Bans

The chief executive of the Football Federation Australia (FFA) has said that the 10 people arrested for match-fixing from the Southern Stars team are facing worldwide lifetime bans.

Nine players and a coach from the Victorian Premier League side were arrested on Sunday following an investigation into match-fixing and now the FFA’s chief executive David Gallop has warned of their potential punishments.

Gallop said: “Integrity measures put in place by football have been effective in detecting this activity.

“Nine players and a coach are now likely to face the courts.

“From the FFA’s point of view we’ll initiate proceedings under our own codes of conduct.

“You can be sure that we will throw the book at them. That means life bans on a worldwide basis.”

Arrests were made when the FFA received data regarding suspicious betting patterns over a Southern Stars match last month.

Members of the Purana Task Force and the police’s Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit reportedly busted the ring on Sunday morning and made 10 arrests.

The bust is being considered as one of the biggest match-fixing scandals in Australian sport and the accused could face a maximum of 10-years in jail.