Filenews 5 June 2023 - by Fanis Makridis
The alleged cover-up of manipulated matches with the participation of the Cyprus and European Football Federation (CFA and UEFA) seems to have much greater dimensions.
Lawyer Haris Savvides testified last Tuesday in addition to what he shockingly revealed to the parliamentary committee on institutions on May 30.
Secure information of "F" states that what he forwarded to the Committee on Ethics and Protection of Sports, (1) now documents that the CFA concealed red files with games of Cypriot teams, (2) shows that an official of an organization committed a criminal offense and (3) that other teams are involved in allegedly manipulated matches, apart from Karmiotissa and Ermis Aradippou.
Regarding the first point, which concerns the Federation's good knowledge of the existence of 16 red envelopes (when it stated that there was not a single one), Mr. Savvides allegedly proved with documents that the CFA selectively announced games involved in curious betting activity. As a result, certain football clubs avoided relegation and/or deregistration. We remind you that according to the regulations of the Cyprus Football Authority, teams that for the third time are involved in a red envelope are relegated, while in the fourth they are deleted and expelled from its football championships.
As for the second point of what new evidence has been submitted by Mr. Savvidis, while the latter was acting as an investigating officer for the Ethics Committee investigating Stavros Papastavrou's allegations of corruption in the sport, it seems that a criminal offense arose from a specific person. During the investigation of the case, Haris Savvides allegedly requested information from an official who heads an organization (legal entity governed by public law) and received a negative response. According to the Law on Combating the Manipulation of Sports Events (2017), "in the event that a person deliberately and without legitimate cause refuses or fails to comply with the above provisions. including the provision of information) is guilty of an offence and, if convicted, is liable to imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or to a fine not exceeding ten thousand euros (€10,000) or both of these (2) penalties".
Finally, the third pillar of Savvides' official complaints to the Committee on Ethics and Protection of Sports last Tuesday gives dimensions to the involvement of Cypriot teams in suspicious betting activity and consequently to their inclusion in red envelopes. Haris Savvides reportedly submitted new evidence about clubs that were described as directly involved in such matches, but in this case too there was a cover-up. A source of "F" said that these elements "will cause a sensation, since it turns out that not only Karmiotissa and Hermes were involved in these games".
It should also be noted that the vice-chairman of the Ethics Committee, Efthymios Efthymiou, in his statements to CyBC last Friday, gave the signal that what Haris Savvides presented to the House gives greater dimensions to the case. In our telephone conversation yesterday, Mr. Efthymiou repeated what he said and added that indeed the witness material refers to criminal offenses. He added that it is considered certain that data will be sent to the Legal Service. However, despite our questions he refused to say anything else.
On Friday, investigators Stefanos Skordis and Orestis Nikitas received their terms of reference. Based on this, they should complete their research work within 45 days, i.e. by mid-July.
