IOC President Meets with Interpol Secretary General on Protecting Clean Athletes

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble met at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne to advance collaboration on the protection of sport from corruption, particularly the manipulation of competition through betting.
The discussion focused on the parameters of collaboration to be implemented in the coming years. The main areas of focus are awareness-raising among members of the Olympic Movement of the risks related to the manipulation of competitions, intelligence gathering, the conducting of investigations and prosecution procedures. Law enforcement authorities will be trained in parallel with the sports movement as the manipulation of sports competitions is often linked to criminal activities. INTERPOL’s expertise in overseeing and conducting investigations and in the exchange of intelligence is therefore critical.
The approach is based on the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding the IOC and INTERPOL signed in January. The MOU widened the scope of previous activities between the two organizations and paves the way for future collaboration on the security and protection of the integrity of competitions at the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games. It includes measures to improve governance through sport regulations and state legislation; ensuring regulatory enforcement through intelligence and investigations; and enhancing awareness among, and providing training to, Olympic Movement stakeholders and law enforcement agencies.
“Protecting the clean athletes from all forms of corruption and manipulation is our top priority,” said President Bach. “Our increased collaboration with INTERPOL serves to safeguard the integrity of sport. We are very satisfied with the determination being demonstrated by INTERPOL to team up with the IOC in this fight for the clean athletes. Together we continue to call on all governments, police authorities and betting regulators to join us.”
“Building on the close collaboration between INTERPOL and the International Olympic Committee is crucial to turning back crime threatening the integrity of sport,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Noble. “Wider global law enforcement support will also help ensure that fans, competitors and officials can safely enjoy international sports events.”
“Our joint action against threats such as illegal and irregular betting will help underpin confidence in fair play by the public and all those who have a stake in keeping sports clean and safe,” the Secretary General added. “The role of INTERPOL is to ensure that the rule of law is respected; the role of the IOC is to ensure that the rule of sport is respected. So it is a perfect marriage.”
As the world’s largest international police organization that works to connect police for a safer world, INTERPOL has worked closely with the IOC in the past to protect Olympic competitions from manipulation.