Deborah Unger

About Deborah Unger

Deborah Unger is Transparency International’s media contact for sport and manager of the Rapid Response Unit.
Author Archive | Deborah Unger

Sports governance in the spotlight

By on 10 December 2014 in Sport

The corruption crisis at FIFA, world football’s governing body, over the awarding of the World Cups to Russia and Qatar and the new reforms on the table this week at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have put sports governance high on both the political and popular agenda as 2014 draws to a close. Sport is […]

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FIFA: how to win back trust

By on 19 September 2014 in Access to information, Accountability, Impunity, Private sector, Sport

Recently FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb admitted publicly that FIFA still had a lot of work to do to repair its battered image despite introducing a slew of organisational reforms. He’s right. FIFA is often seen as synonymous with scandal and not just for football fans. It is the butt of media satire, Twitter wit and […]

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World Cup winners and losers

By on 16 July 2014 in Americas, Cost of Corruption, Europe and Central Asia, Human rights, Politics and government, Poverty and development, Private sector, Sport

The 2014 World Cup had it all. Goals galore on the pitch, surprise results, tears and triumphs: a cornucopia of sporting excitement for a worldwide audience of more than a billion, culminating in a deserved win for an exceptional team from Germany. But it also had a series of own goals off the pitch by […]

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Efforts to educate players and officials about match-fixing must be increased

By on 29 November 2013 in Accountability, Anti-corruption movement, Cost of Corruption, Private sector, Sport

Six people were arrested in the United Kingdom this week on suspicion of match-fixing following an undercover sting operation. It’s not yet clear what games were targeted, but one player named is a former Premier League striker, now playing in a lower division. The fixer is alleged to have come from Singapore, the centre of […]

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Reaching a tipping point: the fight to beat match fixing

By on 5 February 2013 in Education, Sport, Whistleblowing

News released yesterday by Europol, the European police organisation, that football is the target of alleged widespread match fixing should come as no surprise. But the match fixing allegations, involving 15 countries, hundreds of games and more than $2.7 million in pay offs to players and officials (mostly originating in Asia), is shocking. What’s the […]

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Italy needs strong anti-corruption laws now

By on 22 May 2012 in Europe and Central Asia

With Italy once again awash with corruption scandals and parliament delaying the approval of new, tougher anti-corruption laws, Transparency International’s latest assessment of Italy’s ability to fight corruption and the strengths of its institutions, published on 30 March, was well timed. The scandals, according to Maria Teresa Brassaiolo, chair of Transparencia Italia, should not surprise anyone, which is […]

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Paying a high price for transparency – journalists under fire

By on 21 February 2012 in Anti-corruption movement, People power

For two decades, Sri Lankan journalist Poddala was renowned for exposing corruption in health, education and transport. He uncovered one of his country’s biggest ever tax scams. That was until he was abducted and brutally beaten. His fingers on his right hand were crushed and burned severely, making him another tragic example of the brutal […]

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Campaign finance: a quick world tour

By on 25 January 2012 in Politics and government

With $6 billion likely to be spent in the US this year on the race for the White House, the issue of campaign finance will remain in the headlines for much of 2012 in the United States. Though the sums tend to be smaller in other countries, funding elections raises many concerns around the world. […]

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