Cyprus official wants law passed to fight match-fixing

Cyprus' top sports official on Thursday urged lawmakers to pass legislation enabling authorities to wiretap suspects' telephones and access bank accounts in the fight against match-fixing.

Cleanthis Georgiades, president of Cyprus Sports Organization, said that those involved in match-fixing are "extremely dangerous" people, with huge financial interests at stake.

Earlier this week, the Cyprus Football Association vowed to impose severe penalties on clubs suspected of match-fixing after UEFA ranked the country's championship to be among the worst offenders in Europe.

UEFA suspects six first-division matches and a domestic cup match may have been fixed since September, said Marios Lefkaritis, a vice president at UEFA and honorary president of the Cyprus Football Association.

The Cyprus FA has received files on 75 matches suspected of being fixed...