| | Ffa bans accused match fixers
FIFA has banned 20 of the nation's biggest clubs for six years for betting irregularities, according to a report by the FA on Thursday.
The punishment is less than the 14-year bans that former Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool defender Gary Lineker received for betting allegations during his spell with both club clubs in the 1990s.
While the FA will have no comment after the final review of the allegations, the newspaper said the punishment could be "exceedingly harsh."
Fifa officials told AFP: "It is a very positive step that will bring about reform."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said: "I have great optimism that FIFA will have taken meaningful actions against a big number of football associations for the sake of the whole game."
Lineker was suspended from the England national team for a year for alleged match fixing before his retirement, and was given the same penalty for a second ban in 1998.
Blatter said FIFA had made changes "in response to an international problem with betting by teams."
"We have decided to put a much harsher penalty on those who have been found guilty of cheating against other clubs, associations or football teams," he added.
The sanctions have the backing of FIFA president Sepp Blatter. (Reuters)
FIFA said the move would help "raise awareness and increase conviction of the appropriate sanction for those who were found guilty."
The ban will be effective for six years, after which it will be possible to appeal if the allegations are proven correct.
The Football Association was ordered by UEFA last year to ban 19 clubs from the Champions League for the next five seasons over match fixing claims. The FA have had three years to appeal their decision, which has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In the first of three reports on Monday into allegations of match-fixing at FIFA, the report found "imperfections" in how the sport's governing body organises the awarding of international contracts, especially in light of the increasing influence of money at FIFA.
The scandal came to the public's attention only in 2014, and involved a long-time FIFA employee and former player known as Guillermo Delillo, who was given a jail term for his part in one of the largest match-fixing cases in history.
That same year, former French soccer player Michel Platini, a senior FIFA official and one of the main players in the investigations, was found guilty of fixing the 1994 World Cup.
Last June, U.S. investigators said they wanted to see evidence of "more extensive" corruption at the top levels of world football to convince the U.S. congress and Congress of th
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Your property values will rise, because you're earning rent and/or selling at a premium.
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What can I buy for rent?
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