On 22 March 2018, ASEANAPOL Secretariat received a visit from officers of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) based in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Benoit Pasquier, General Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs, accompanied by Mr. Ahmed Alosaymi and Mr. Mohammad Yazid Zakaria, Integrity Officers of AFC. They were welcomed by the Executive Director of ASEANAPOL Secretariat, Police Colonel Kenechanh Phommachack,, Director for Police Services SUPT Jim Wee, Director for Plan & Programme ACP Aidah Othman and Staff.
Discussions between the two sides jointly cooperate with ASEANAPOL and AFC in dealing with the manipulation of Asian football matches in the region. In addition, the discussion is also aimed at eliminating match competitions and promoting the integrity of football soccer in the Asian region. Investigation and prosecution of criminal organisations and individuals who predominantly orchestrate the fixing schemes are entirely a matter for public authorities’ intervention such as the police, AFC is powerless against them. Orchestrated fixing can only be executed with the involvement of persons subject to the rules and regulations of the sport’s governing body. Despite strong sanctions based on sufficient evidence in AFC's jurisdiction, most of the criminals at the origin of the fixing are still unsanctioned in most of the cases.
Purpose of the AFC in engaging the police or other public authority based on the information gathered should be established in a two pronged collaboration and by holding collaboration with ASEANAPOL particularly in sharing information, intelligence, evidences, gathered in context of its disciplinary investigation to law enforcement agencies may boast the undertaking that the parties would want to initiate.
