Soccer-Moldovan official banned over women's under-17 game

Feb 14 (Reuters - A Moldovan sports official has been banned for life for trying to bribe the coach of the country's women's under-17 team to fix an international match. European soccer's governing body UEFA said that Vasile Mungiu, an official at the Anenii Noi Sports School, offered money to manipulate the result of a European women's under-17 championship match against Latvia in August. "The coach immediately reported the attempt to the Football Association of Moldova (FMF) and the police," said UEFA in a statement. "Mungiu was arrested on the day of the match, and later admitted to the attempted match-fixing." "UEFA welcomes the prompt and exemplary reaction of the Moldovan women's under-17 coach. "UEFA is also pleased with the excellent cooperation of the FMF, as well as the National Anti-Corruption Centre of the Republic of Moldova during the investigation process." Match-fixing is often instigated by gambling rings who make their money by betting on the outcome of the game. Fixers generally prefer low profile games, believing suspicious incidents are less likely to be seen. (Reporting by Brian Homewood; editing by Josh Reich)