Knowledge bank: Sepp Blatter suggests that professional referees could put an end to match fixing. In England, the FA has a group of paid referees and so far no instances of match fixing. But a refereeing career is short and may not pay enough.

Knowledge bank: Match fixing is emerging everywhere football is played and can no longer be termed one-offs. More often than not match fixing occurs in less prominent leagues and lower divisions and the bets are set on teams to lose.

Knowledge bank: Good fixers are experts on human nature, explains a journalist and academic who has researched the dynamics of match fixing.

Knowledge bank: The online sports betting business has an annual turnover of $80 billion and it is increasingly attractive to try and influence outcome of games. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, FIFA set up a special early warning system to catch suspicious bets. FIFA and UEFA have also set up alert systems with other lotteries and gambling companies.

Knowledge bank: Match fixing is an old practice that has become easier because it is possible to gamble on losers.

Time has come to form a global coalition for good governance in sport based on the model of WADA. So says Jens Sejer Andersen, director of Play the Game, who launched the idea in a speech at the recent conference “Play Fair with Sport” organised by UEFA and the Council of Europe.

Yet another battle has broken out between UEFA and FIFA and this time FIFA is backed by IOC, spearheaded by Jacques Rogge. IOC and FIFA are unhappy that EU wants to get involved in the affairs of elite sport. UEFA on the other hand calls for stronger co-operation with the EU.

The president of the French Olympic Committee has been found guilty of corruption charges and has received a suspended sentence of three months in jail. Henri Serandour was accused of giving two lucrative jobs from the national Olympic Committee to a communication company that employs his wife.