Welcome Mr. Ceferin!

According to an article in Gazeta Shqiptare (Albanian Journal) on April 5, 2015, when asked about the beginning of his relationship with football, Armand Duka stated:

“I haven’t had any particular passion for playing football...Becoming head of the Albanian Football Association (AFA) was not a result of my passion for football. I didn’t know that there was a President and it even sounded funny to me...”. We could write another letter on how he became President of the AFA.

Dear Mr. President! You are here today to support Duka. There is nothing new we can add to what you already know about Duka! He is a hackneyed public figure, who has been at the center of huge scandals, with manipulated league matches and even manipulated matches of the national football team in UEFA. Football in Albania is characterized by unfair matches, pre-determined results, rising match-fixings and fans that have abandoned stadiums.

The Football Association that he leads has never been a transparent and comprehensive institution that serves football – but it is considered by him as a private business. His good connections in politics and the highly corrupt judiciary in our country make his work much easier. In a normal country, Armand Duka, wouldn’t even be part of football.

If UEFA would have been a serious institution, there has been sufficient advance information available by the BFDS for Duka not to be accepted in a representative post at the Executive Committee elections. Electing Duka in your “Polit-Buro” raises doubts about UEFA as an institution where trust and fair competition are still far.

We would like to remind you Mr. Čeferin of a shortened overview of the matches played by Albanian teams, which have been included by YOU, UEFA, in the black list as highly suspicious cases of match-fixing (not to mention tens of other matches of national teams of all ages that have been identified in Albania).

1.    International matches (UEFA Europa League and Champions League)

2002-2003
•    Dinamo-Brondby 0-4

2003-2004
•    Vllaznia-Dundee 0-2
•    Partizani-Birkirkara 4-2
•    Dinamo-Lokeren 0-4

2004-2005
•    Dinamo-Otelul Galati: 1-8  
•    Partizani-Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin: 1-6 in total

2005-2006
•    Ekranas-Elbasan 3-0

2007-2008
•    Bezhanija-Besa 2-2
•    Besa-Liteks Loveç 0-3
•    Slaven Belupo-Teuta 6-2

2009-2010
•    Stabaek- Tirana 4-0
•    Rapid Vien-Vllaznia 8-0 (in total)
•    Stabaek- Tirana 4-0
•    Rapid Vien – Vllaznia 5-0
•    Vllaznia- Rapid Vien 0-3 

As for the “Dinamo” case (Dinamo-Brondby, season 2002/03), A. Duka stated that he would report the case to the Prosecution Office and this was followed by the reaction of the Dinamo President, M. Delijorgji, who accused Duka of fixing national team matches and then the case was closed…!

2.    National Championship

September 2007 – AFA informs that the below matches were fixed, but it was the fault of the referees…! No investigation, no disciplinary actions.

Superior League:
•    Flamurtari - Teuta
•    Kastrioti - Flamurtari
•    Flamurtari - Vllaznia
•    Tirana - Partizani 
•    Besa - Apolonia
•    Apolonia - Elbasani
•    Luftëtari - Shkumbini
•    Luftëtari - Tirana
•    Apolonia - Teuta
•    Apolonia - Vllaznia
•    Luftëtari - Vllaznia 

First Division:
•    Besëlidhja -Turbina
•    Tomori – Lushnja
•    Besëlidhja - Burreli 

DECEMBER 2009 (Info Arkiva 28/12/2009)

FC Tirana President, Refik Halili, accused AFA President, Armand Duka on the basis that “he is not playing fair with the FC Tirana. And all of this is done to disguise national team’s match fixings”. Halili further stated that: Duka has abused stadium lighting tenders and broadcasting rights. “Everything is true. Duka is a communist that won’t change. Fans should be aware of who leads AFA”.

According to the Panorama Sport Journal on 13 December 2011:
 “Scandal, UEFA declares: These are the 13 fixed matches in Albania”.

Based on the UEFA report, analysis show that a number of them are very suspicious, some are fixed and others are 100% fixed. Thus, for matches that were played on 20 April 2011, it is stated as follows in the UEFA report: Fixed matches with a pre-determined score:

12 March 2011 
•    Dinamo – Elbasan 3-1

15 April 2011
•    Dinamo-Skënderbeu 2-3
There is not a lot to be said. I haven’t seen such betting frauds. Both teams already know how the match would come to an end. Conclusion: 100% fixed match

•    Tirana-Elbasan 6-1
The away team is a pour team and only concedes goals for illegal profits. Conclusion: 100% fixed.

Elbasani vs. Bylis 0-2. Fixed result. Conclusion: Explicitly a fixed match.

•    Elbasani-Bylis 0-2
                       Explicitly fixed match.
 

                      19 March 2011
•    Elbasani vs. Bylis 0-2
 
                      1 April 2011
•    Laçi vs. Elbasan 3-1
 
                      20 April 2011 
•    Skënderbeu vs. Laçi 2-0
 This is a fixed match. Pre-determined score 2-0. Conclusion: Fixed with a pre-determined score.

•    Flamurtari vs. Dinamo 6-2
The bets were all on one side and it was believed the home team would win with lots of goals. At the break, the bets were stopped. Fixed match. It was played for a win and many goals were scored.

•    Besa vs. Kastrioti 3-2
No room for debate. Those who placed the bets already knew. Amazed at how the bets have stayed open. 100% fixed match for pre-determined 3-2 result.

•    Elbasani vs. Teuta 2-4
Those who placed bets were very confident that Teuta would win and more than 3 goals would be scored. 100% fixed match.

•    Bylis-Shkumbini 2-0
Obvious from the start. Everyone who placed bets knew what they were doing. 100% fixed match. 2-0 win.

                      24 April 2011 
•    Shkumbini vs Besa 2-2
It was played with a hándicap betting for the away team. Conclusion: Fixed match.

•    Kastrioti vs. Teuta 3-1 
A win for the home team and more than 3 goals scored. Conclusion: Fixed match.

                      25 April 2011 
•    Kastrioti vs. Teuta 3-1
 
                      3 October 2011 
•    Kastrioti vs. Vllazni 2-1

Basically, a championship, at least in one week (the 29th) was fixed in the most banal way possible. Moreover, even though manipulation (according to Albanian media) or match-fixing (according to UEFA) was clear, the Albanian Association did not take anything under consideration by letting in this way the situation deteriorate and the results be completely fictive. 

Referees and Players
As regards the Kastrioti-Vllaznia match, played this year on October 3, UEFA has even mentioned names of referees and footballers that were involved. The report includes names of referees: Albano Janku, Arben Pregja and Redi Avdo and footballers of Kastrioti: Caca, Muçollari, Grami and Turdiu, who was sent off with a red card in this match.

According to reports that were sent by UEFA, it is obvous that all the highest ranking officials of this institution were well informed in advance of all these matches. Neither did the Federation make this report public, nor did it investigate the situation, by getting in this way indirectly involved in this scandal.

The Albanian Football Association kept the UEFA reports hidden and did not sue anyone at the Prosecution Office, but chose to resolve the issues “on its own”. This practice of the AFA is a failed one, as it has made football in Albania enter into a vicious cycle and has brought its reliability to the lowest levels in its entire history.

Year 2012

Panorama Sport Journal, 3 May 2012:

An official of the Department of the Fight Against Match-Fixing in UEFA, Pierre Cornu, arrived in Tirana on Wednesday. Since September 2011, UEFA has regularly released monthly reports to AFA on matches that were suspected as fixed or manipulated. Following the massive attention that these reports caused, AFA has recently decided to keep the UEFA-released files hidden.

•    Gazeta Shqiptare (Albanian Journal) 4 May 2012: 

AFA punishes Lezha fans for suing match-fixing. There was no more shameful way of greeting the UEFA official as he left the country.

•    Lajm Shqip (Albanian News) 6 February 2013: 
Match fixings: Tirana and Vllaznia also involved.

•    SOTnews 09/12/2011: 
 “The epidemic of match-fixing quite strong in Albania”

•    “Shekulli” Journal, 12 February 2015: 
“This is how a match is fixed in Albania:”

“…This is how matches are fixed. And this is not something said only by us, by FIFA or by UEFA, but by a report called “Forrest’s sports corruption report”, which for more than 4 years has been conducted in some places in Europe”, as argued by Eaton in a report that was largely on Albania.

There have been at least 100 cases and signals that have been delivered to the Albanian Prosecution Office by UEFA. There have also been a number of accusations by companies specialized in match-fixing such as Sport Radar or FderBet, but the Prosecution Office has never been able to proove or identify the manipulators…!

It is worth mentioning the fact that UEFA’s Deputy Secretary General, Thodhore Theodhoritis, has come to Tirana for match-fixing issues and he asked for the reports to be investigated by the Prosecution Office’s Task Force based on the signals received by the european institution. (No results were achieved in Albania…)!

National Team - 2006-2008
•    Romania - Albania 6-1
•    Albania - Belarus 2-5

There have been strong allegations related to these matches in Albania.
December 2007: The “National Team” case was not at all a silent one. Prime Minister Sali Berisha was the first person to ask for the investigation of the case. According to him, “there exists a mafia clan in the national football team that desecrates our flag. According to Berisha the situation was extremely dramatic and at the time he asked for an immediate intervention to avoid this shame. He insistently asked that the responsible people should be faced with justice”. Culture and Sports Minister, Ylli Pango, explicitly accused the AFA President that he could have been involved in match-fixing. In a letter addressed by Pango to UEFA, he states: “We are doubtful that both matches might have been fixed by Mr. Duka himself”. “All facts related to match-fixing are at place, but they will become public at the right time, because at this stage we cannot put the investigations at risk”. 
We are all aware of the way that A. Duka used to make Sali Berisha silent!!! 

-    Former national team coach, Sh. Rreli states:

“I am happy to hear the statements of the Prime Minister, because this is a fact that we do not often mention in Albania. What happened with the national team was a shame...I trust that we as a country, as the football community and the AFA have the potential to  bring back dignity to the team”.

-    Former national team coach, B. Birçe asks for concrete measures to be undertaken:

“The Prime Minister’s statement is quite fair, right at a time when not only the national team, but football in Albania is in danger due to mismanagement. I hope that my words will serve to foster initiatives for fighting corrupton and saving football”.

-    Former national team coach, N. Bajko: It is time for the state to intervene:

„It is the first time in the last 20 years that a Prime Minister delivers such an open statement on a problem that is largely becoming evident“.

„Football in Albania does no longer belong to the fans“ – this was a summary of what the Director of the Office for the Citizens‘ Protection, Aldo Shala, declared. Every statement referred to the doubts for match-fixings by the Albanian clubs and other dark investments in the Albanian football.

This national team belongs to organized crime and mafia (Berat Buzhala – Tema newspaper, 11/10/2013)

“As long as Armando Duka leads the AFA, the allegations of many Albanian players living abroad, stating that Duka’s fixers have asked for huge amounts of money in exchange for them to become part of the national team, will remain unresolved. Only Duka’s leave would pave the way to investigations on him and all the Association.
The Albanian national football team is nothing else but a mafia team; a team of the organized crime where matches are fixed and results are manipulated”.
 

The Skenderbeu case
We are opening this section with the title of The Guardian, on 19 March 2018: ‘Fixing matches like nobody has done before - Skenderbeu’s amazing tale
Let us have a look at the “Skenderbeu” file. FC Skenderbeu was accused of fixing the matches below:
1.    Crusaders FC vs. Skënderbeu (21/06/2015) 
2.    NK Dinamo Zagreb vs. Skënderbeu (25/08/2015) 
3.    Sporting Clube de Portugal vs. Skënderbeu (22/10/2015) 
4.    Skënderbeu vs. FC Lokomotiv Moskva (10/12/2015)
5.    Skënderbeu vs. Neftçi PKF (23/07/2013)
6.    FC Shakther Karagandy vs. Skënderbeu (30/07/2013)
7.    Skënderbeu vs. FC Shakther Karagandy (06/08/2013)
8.    Skënderbeu vs. Dinamo Tirana (13/11/2010)
9.    Teuta vs. Skënderbeu (08/12/2010)
10.    Skënderbeu vs. Shkumbini (12/12/2010)
11.    KF Tirana vs. Skënderbeu (03/02/2011)
12.    KS Kastrioti vs. Skënderbeu (06/02/2011)
13.    KS Dinamo Tirana vs. Skënderbeu (25/02/2011)
14.    Skënderbeu vs. Bylis Ballsh (07/03/2011)
15.    KS Dinamo Tirana vs. Skënderbeu (15/04/2011)
16.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Laçi (20/04/2011)
17.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Kastrioti (26/10/2011)
18.    Skënderbeu vs. Bylis Ballsh (05/12/2011)
19.    KF Laçi vs. Skënderbeu (04/02/2012)
20.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Pogradeci (08/02/2012)
21.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Vllaznia (07/03/2012)
22.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Laçi (21/03/2012)
23.    Dajti Kamza vs. Skënderbeu (26/03/2012)
24.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Vllaznia (25/04/2012)
25.    KS Vllaznia vs. Skënderbeu (24/08/2012)
26.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Laçi (24/09/2012)
27.    KS Shkumbini vs. Skënderbeu (08/12/2012)
28.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Kukesi (15/12/2012)
29.    KS Kastrioti vs. Skënderbeu (19/12/2012)
30.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Kastrioti (04/02/2013)
31.    Apolonia Fier vs. Skënderbeu (17/02/2013)
32.    KS Shkumbini vs. Skënderbeu (20/02/2013)
33.    KF Laçi vs. Skënderbeu (01/03/2013)
34.    KS Kukesi vs. Skënderbeu (06/03/2013)
35.    match Skënderbeu vs. KS Kastrioti (12/03/2014)
36.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Kukesi (30/04/2014)
37.    FK Partizani vs. Skënderbeu (11/09/2014)
38.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Elbasani (29/10/2014)
39.    KS Vllaznia vs. Skënderbeu (21/12/2014)
40.    KF Elbasani vs. Skënderbeu (25/01/2015)
41.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Laçi (31/01/2015)
42.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Flamurtari (18/02/2015)
43.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Flamurtari (16/05/2015)
44.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Tirana (21/09/2015)
45.    Skënderbeu vs. KS Teuta (16/10/2015)
46.    Skënderbeu vs. Terbuni Puke (22/11/2015)
47.    Skënderbeu vs. Vllaznia (17/02/2016)
48.    Skënderbeu vs. KF Laçi (20/04/2016)
49.    Skënderbeu vs. Silkeborg IF (24/01/2013)
50.    Skënderbeu vs. SV Mattersburg (31/01/2013)
51.    FC Energie Cottbus vs. Skënderbeu (04/07/2013)
52.    FC Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Skënderbeu (25/06/2014)
53.    Skënderbeu vs. KV Oostende (11/01/2015)
54.    FC Dynamo Kyiv vs. Skënderbeu (06/07/2015)
55.    KS Kastrioti Kruje vs. KS Vllaznia (02/10/2011)

If you carefully read through the UEFA lawsuit, you can easily see that what has happened to football in Albania in these last 20 years is sad and frightening! The most concerning fact is that UEFA has always kept AFA informed about the situation, as it was already stated above.

In order to understand how the Association and the football clubs were extensively engaged in match-fixing, you should read the below paraghraps extracted from the UEFA lawsuit:

 “To comply with its regulatory obligations, which came into force in July 2013, UEFA met with representatives of the Albanian Prosecution Office several times in 2013 and 2014. To support these investigations, UEFA held a two-day meeting with a delegation of the Albanian Prosecution Office in Nyon in 2014.

In addittion, the General Secretary of UEFA and UEFA high officials met with high officials of the Ministry of Education and Sports in Tirana to receive their support for these investigations.

“In this context, - as UEFA explains in its lawsuit – a final example is even more explanatory. Thanks to the excellent cooperation between UEFA and the Austrian police, UEFA was informed of the last efforts of the Austrian police in investigating a possible match-fixing of the Albanian FC Teuta, in which it was ascertained that further investigation in Albania would cease because the suspects (i.e.: the club) were tipped off by the Albanian police that they were under investigation. The Final Report of the Austrian Police on this case concluded that:
“It seems that further investigation in Albania will not continue because the accused have been tipped off by the Durres “Chief of Police”.

This example reveals “the horrific” situation in which the justice authorities in our country are! And this also explains the reason why UEFA dealt with the club directly and not with individuals, because then it would have been a lost case.

“According to the analysis, FC Skenderbeu has been involved in an organized way in match-fixing at the national level for many years. UEFA has shared the reports of the BFDS partners and its concerns for Skenderbeu and other first and second division Albanian football clubs with the Albanian Football Association, because the fixing is related to matches that are organized by the AFA and are under its jurisdiction”.

UEFA lawyers were aware that they could not sue individuals. If that happened, trials would never end and that is why they mentioned the names of all the suspected individuals, who enabled the proper conditions for this illegal activity to take place, but on the other hand it was the club that they accused. It is a known fact that in a normal country, justice authorities would deal with the corrupt individuals!

It is clearly explained in the UEFA lawsuit, which is in the possession of AFA and which is published in newspapers, that UEFA received information from BFDS and always informed AFA. The report shows names of club presidents, coaches, football players, several Albanian politicians and Members of Parliament, betting companies’ executives etc. In an article published in  February 2018, a journalist poses the question of how it is possible that the name of the head of the AFA never shows up?!

Research lead us to a document, which was very carefully saved by one of the closest collaborators of Duka, a former employee of AFA. The document was compiled by the BFDS partner for the Skenderbeu case, upon which UEFA was based for preparing the lawsuit. The question is: Why is this document found in the offices of AFA?

THE ODD PART..? The first name appearing in the list of suspects for match-fixing was that of A. Duka! Then, how can one explain the fact that it was not involved in the UEFA lawsuit? Was it forgotten? Did they think that it was not relevant for the lawsuit?

In the BFDS (Betting Fraud Detection System) Partner Report
Page 8. Paragraph: The most important figures at Skënderbeu FC.
The first name is that of Armando Duka.
And the report further goes on as follows:
“The President of the Albanian Football Association (AFA), Armand Duka, and the former President of Skënderbeu FC, Agim Zeqo, are both investors in the Best Brands and New Century companies. Agim Zeqo holds 55% of the shares, Armand Duka 22.5% and his brother Agron Duka 22.5%. New Century has also advertised the company name on Skënderbeu FC T-shirts!!

Individuals at the club’s board level, central and local government, as well as the national football association, are very likely to have had ongoing relations and are currently estimated to have contributed to creating the conditions that made Skënderbeu FC match-fixing possible.

These interrelated relations continue to deepen in the current football in Albania”.

The report also includes a Swedish document where the name of A. Duka is mentioned. On 08/10/2014 “Uppdrag Granskning”, a Swedish television program on investigative journalism, published an interview with Liridon Leci, an Albanian footballer previously implicated in match-fixing, who was secretly filmed. In the interview, Leci admits his involvement in match-fixing. In the recording, Liridon Leci speaks openly about his contacts in the second division and especially in the biggest football league in Sweden, the Allsvenskan.

Apart from the contacts in Sweden, Liridon Leci also talks about the involvement of Albanian football. “People in Albania are a great support to me. I only had an Albanian passport because I do this job (referring to match-fixing). The passport was given to me by Armand Duka (referring to the president of the Albanian Football Association.)
At the end of the report, Duka’s company is mentioned again as the main sponsor of Skënderbeu FC. Is it the most important sponsor of this club!?

All Albanian football activities, at all levels without exception, are organized, directed and fall under the jurisdiction of the AFA! Thus, the president of AFA is the sponsor of the champion team in the championship that he himself organizes; he is a co-owner with the former president of the team in the sponsoring company, and the former president of the club was a shareholder in the club sponsored by the president of AFA!

These are the bullets that the “TNT boys” in Durrës sent to the houses of
the UEFA inspectors responsible for the Skënderbeu FC case!

Considering these serious accusations and the historically shameful punishment of Skënderbeu FC, the current leader of AFA is the direct accused of this criminal massacre; and in every democratic country in Europe, in which Albania aspires to become part, he would have been at least kicked out of football.

Can such a leader continue to be the head of AFA? And the Prosecution Office keeps saying that there are no facts ...!! UEFA has done the most important work: it has fined Skënderbeu FC by 10 years and a €1 million fine. It is now up to the Prosecution Office to cut off the roots of this enormous corruption. The facts are there! What UEFA did was the same as what the Prosecution Office should have done with the Albanian institutions that created the conditions for the organization of this massacre of manipulations! The Prosecution Office had to essentially investigate the AFA and all the clubs of the superior league in Albania.

B.K./Shqiptarja.com

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