By Nick Butler

The appointment of Martens is the latest in a series of measures taken by the IOC, and new President Thomas Bach, to combat match fixing ©Getty ImagesDecember 21 - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that Friedrich Martens has been appointed as Head of Betting and Integrity Reporting in an attempt to tackle the growing problem of match fixing in sport.


The issue has become increasingly prominent in recent weeks following a spate of cases across the sports world, and the IOC has been acutely aware of the potential extent of the problem across the Olympic disciplines.

An IOC spokesman confirmed to insidethegames that "Friedrich Martens has been hired within the Office of the Ethics Commission, working under Ethics Commission Secretary Paquerette Girard-Zappelli."

It is understood that he has already been in his post for around a month.

Martens has plenty of experience in a similar role after spending nearly two years working as manager of competition analysis at FIFA's Early Warning System, which aimed to spot patterns suggesting match fixing throughout the international game. 

Although this system has been much acclaimed football has faced a spate of cases in recent weeks - with the most notable one involving an investigation being launched against Italy's 2006 World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso.

Football has faced various match fixing allegations in recent weeks, with Italian World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso one figure under investigation ©Getty ImagesFootball has faced various match fixing allegations in recent weeks, with Italian World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso one figure under investigation ©Getty Images


There have been less cases of match fixing in the Olympic sports so far - despite various suggestions - but the IOC has already taken a range of precautionary steps. 

Before ending his 12-year tenure as President earlier this year, Jacques Rogge warned how "sport is in danger" and "illegal gambling is now a greater scourge for world sport than doping." 

This attitude has been inherited by his replacement Thomas Bach, who promtly established a commission to tackle illegal betting and match-fixing upon taking up his post. 

Last week the first meeting of the IOC Executive Board under Bach's Presidency then decided to open a $10 million (£6 million/€7 million) fund to protect athletes from "any kind of manipulation or related corruption."

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will also be signed with Interpol early next year so as to better coordinate responses while a monitoring process - entitled the Integrity Betting, Intelligence System (IBIS) - will be set up to collate and distribute intelligence and research from International Federations.

The addition of someone with the experience of Martens to the Ethics Commission can be taken as another indicator of these warnings being heeded.

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