Integrity in football: ways to combat manipulation and doping discussed in Kyiv
A meeting organized by the National Platform of Sports Integrity, the Ukrainian Association of Footbal, and the National Anti-Doping Center was held at the Ukrainian Football Association headquarters. The event was attended by representatives of clubs from the Ukrainian Premier League and the Professional Football League of Ukraine.
The meeting was opened with welcoming remarks by Matvii Bidnyi, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Vadym Guttsait, President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and Vitaliy Danilchenko, Deputy Secretary General of the UAF.
"We live in a time when sport victories are measured not only by medals, but also by trust — trust in athlete, coach, sports federation and to the state. That is why sports integrity is becoming a core value in sport. The Ministry consistently supports the activities of the National Platform of Sports Integrity as a key coordinator in the fight against competition manipulation, ensuring ethical standards, and developing a culture of fair play," said Matvii Bidnyi.
The president of the NOC of Ukraine, Vadym Guttsait, emphasized that sports integrity is the foundation of trust in Ukrainian sports:
“Our task is not only to achieve results, but also to ensure that these results are fair. Only fair sports can build genuine faith in victory and respect for Ukrainian athletes around the globe.”
As part of the meeting program, Stephanie Eichenberger, a representative of UEFA, spoke online about the systematic approach to ensuring sports integrity in European football and UEFA's role in supporting national initiatives.
Deputy Head of the Interagency Working Group “National Platform of Sports Integrity” First Vice President of the NOC of Ukraine Oleksii Perevezentsev, and Secretary of the National Platform Nataliia Radchuk outlined the main areas of activity of the National Platform — from the operational exchange of information with sports federations to international cooperation within the Group of Copenhagen.
During his speech, Oleksii Perevezentsev presented the new capabilities of the FAIR Play digital ecosystem and the Memorandum of Cooperation with the IBIA (International Betting Integrity Association), which allows Ukraine to receive analytical data on suspicious bets in real time.
Special attention was paid to the topic of combating doping in football. Director of the National Anti-Doping Center Serhii Popyk spoke about the cooperation between FIFA, UEFA, UAF and NADC, as well as the existing agreements on joint work in the anti-doping sphere.
FIFPRO representative Yulia Grechko presented the Red Button mobile application, which allows professional footballers to report attempts at bribery or match-fixing in a confidential manner.
The work of the UAF Ethics and Fair Play Committee was presented by its chairman, Andrii Davydenko, and secretary, Anastasia Bilenko, who outlined the main principles of the UAF Code of Ethics and provided examples of disciplinary decisions regarding violators of fair play principles.
Andrii Nekrutov, an expert at the National Platform of Sports Integrity and a member of the UAF Ethics Committee, focused on the legal aspects of interaction between sports federations, clubs, government agencies, and bookmaking companies. He also spoke about the modern UFDS - Sportradar and IBIA betting monitoring systems, with which Ukraine has already established effective cooperation.
The event became an important step in the development of a joint system to combat manipulation of sports competitions and violations of fair play principles in Ukrainian football.