FIFA today extended sanctions imposed on 13 players by the Estonian Football Association and on two players by the Slovak Football Association to a worldwide ban. Article 136.1 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code allows FIFA to extend sanctions to have a worldwide effect for ‘serious’ offences.

‘The Estonian FA has been cooperating with national judicial authorities after the State Prosecutor Office opened fraud investigations in 2011 and has subsequently opened its own proceedings against several players’, read FIFA’s media release. ‘As the Estonian FA continues to gather evidence and information, its Disciplinary Committee has decided to ban from all football-related activities ten players (eight of whom had been sanctioned previously) until 1 March 2015 and two other players until 31 December 2014. In these 12 cases, the Disciplinary Committee is expected to render final decisions by the end of the year once all the necessary elements have been analysed, according to the Estonian FA. Additionally, one player, Yaroslav Dmitriev, has been sanctioned with a lifetime ban from all football-related activities.’

‘The Disciplinary Committee of the Slovak FA has decided to sanction two players, Ivan Hodúr and Róbert Rák, with 11-year and 15-year suspensions respectively in connection with the manipulation of several friendly club matches in 2011. Ivan Hodúr had already been sanctioned with a 14-year suspension on 17 December 2013 in connection with another case of match manipulation and therefore the total duration of the suspension imposed on him by the Slovak FA equates to 25 years. Earlier this year, in January and February, FIFA confirmed the extension of sanctions imposed on six Slovak players, including Ivan Hodúr, who were involved in match manipulation of several matches in the Slovak Corgoň Liga (top division) in the 2013-2014 season, with suspensions ranging in length from 14 to 25 years.’