#Kazakhstan: Match-fixing in the Premier League

The Association of Professional Football Players of Kazakhstan, which represents more than 650 professional football players of the Kazakhstan Premier League and First Division, has written to FIFA to complain about match-fixing among leading clubs, organized by certain football managers.

The complaint centers around fair play in the matches of FC Aktobe and FC Ordabasy during the first round, where referees apparently favored those two teams, while the competition of others teams, like FC Atyrau and others, was apparently impeded.

On August 16, 2016, a recording was posted on YouTube of a conversation between FC Aktobe director Vassilyiev and FC Ordabasy chief trainer Baiseitov.

In it Baiseitov can be clearly heard saying: “No, I told you that I have lost 300 thousand, I just made good to you, so that you could hit the six.”

This phrase is taken to mean that FC Ordabasy assisted FC Aktobe in hitting the first six in the Kazakh football league.

12 professional football clubs are participating in Kazakhstan Premier-League in the season 2016/2017. In the Championship, the first six teams are battling for the championship and participation in Euro Cup, while two teams from the second six are relegated to the First Division

The audio recording has sparked public outcry in Kazakhstan.

In August 2016, Football Federation of Kazakhstan President Y.T. Kozhagapanov established a Commission to investigate match-fixing.

In its letter to FIFA, the Kazakhstan Players Union expressed its vote of no confidence in Kozhagapanov and the composition of the Commission, claiming that it consists of persons directly dependent on the Federation and the Premier League, and therefore whose objectivity is totally challengeable.

General Secretary of The Association of Professional Football Players of Kazakhstan Aigerim Sabralieva told EU Reporter that after submitting their letter to FIFA, she felt compelled to leave the country for a month as she feared for her personal safety.

“The role of the Football Federation of Kazakhstan should be regulating football, not protecting match fixing,” said Sabralieva. “We should all work together to develop Kazakh football.”

“Before we sent the letter to FIFA the board of the Players Union decided on behalf of 650 players we had to do something to clean up Kazakh football.”

“Despite the urgent need for anti-match-fixing practice and principles of fair play, the players of Kazakhstan believe they have fallen victims of questionable actions by the Federation, the League, and the clubs, where the results of the football battles are not attributed to the fair play, but rather the cooperation with arbitrators, intrigues, tampering and the abuse of the administrative resource.”

The Players Union has requested an investigation by FIFA into the Kazakhstan’s football championship matches between Aktobe and Ordabasy clubs, and the audio recording of the conversation between Vassiliyev and Baiseitov.

The FIFA Ethics Committee already has a pending case against FFC President Y.T. Kozhagapanov.

FC Aktobe director Vassilyiev was detained this week, he faces seven to 12 years in prison over charges of embezzling 300 million tenge ($882,000).

At the recent regular meeting of the Executive Committee of the Football federation of Kazakhstan, Kozhagapanov stood down in order to submit this issue for approval by an Election Conference which will be held November 28, 2016 in Astana.

The Association of Professional Football Players of Kazakhstan has high hopes that the election of a new President of the Football Federation of Kazakhstan to replace Mr. Y T Kozhagapanov will see an end to the “darkest period” of Kazakh football.

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