By Andrew Warshaw
October 4 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has expressed his disappointment that the Italian footballer made a FIFA ambassador for reporting match-fixing has not been able to find a job since.
Simone Farina was playing for Gubbio when he refused a €200,000 (£161,000/$259,000) offer to fix an Italian Cup match against Cesena in November last year and reported it to police.
FIFA rewarded him but he has not managed to find another club after being released at the end of last season.
“This is something absolutely incredible, it is something that could only happen in a game and…it should not,” said Blatter (pictured below right, with Farina left).
“We have to protect the players who disclose match-fixing,” he said.
“We have had some feedback where players disclosing some activities…have not been accepted again as players.
“We have to protect the players and the players also have to be protected in their clubs, their leagues, their federation.
“We at FIFA cannot make an umbrella over all the players, it is not possible.”
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