UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said that UEFA wants "consistent sanctions against match-fixing across Europe" and has drafted an 11-point plan to "help make that happen," according to REUTERS' Tony Goodson. Infantino: "For UEFA, the fight against match-fixing is a top priority but it is important that all over Europe there is as uniform an approach as possible against it." The draft plan will be sent to all 54 European FAs "calling on them to agree consistent proposals" to put before the UEFA Congress in Astana, Kazakhstan in March for approval. Infantino: "It cannot be that in one country you have one sanction and another one in a different country for the same offense which goes straight into the soul of football. Sanctions must be very, very harsh" (REUTERS, 12/12). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL reported UEFA wants football's lawmakers to scrap the so-called "triple punishment" rule that many in the game feel is too draconian. Under the current law, a player who denies an opponent a clear goal-scoring opportunity and concedes a penalty "is sent off and gets an automatic suspension." But the rule "has been hotly debated, with referees frequently applying different interpretations in different games for different players." Critics complain that a penalty "would suffice in cases where the foul is not of a violent nature" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 12/13).
