By . Ian Parkes, Press Association . Footballers in England are confident the game at its highest levels is clean of the scourge of match-fixing, a survey conducted by international players' union FIFPro has revealed. Over 1,500 players from eight countries - England, Scotland, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Slovenia - submitted responses to a questionnaire that tested their knowledge about the extent of fixing, approaches to fix matches, sharing inside information and betting rules. It further examined their beliefs in respect of the extent of fixing, the instigators and causes, prevention and education, as well as enquiring as to who they would trust to report information on match-fixing, how they would prefer to report information,and reasons that might prevent them from doing so. Protest: A Nigeria supporter backs his team before the match following allegations of match fixing . Other assessments included their practice in reporting approaches, their likelihood to report information, and their own betting practice. An assumption of the survey was that the majority of players are not involved in match-fixing and would therefore answer truthfully. In England, there were 121 respondents, with 100 of those aged 22 or under, and with 62 playing in the Barclays Premier League. Every player questioned said they had not played in a game that has since been identified as fixed, nor had they been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match, nor did they believe one or more games have been fixed in that period. In England, the survey concluded players' betting against the rules was the primary threat to integrity in the game, with nine from 111 players who responded confirming they had bet on matches. It added, however, the recent cases of alleged external criminal infiltration 'should act as a reminder that a more serious form of match fixing is a threat that cannot be ignored'. There have been a number of high-profile police investigations that have come to light. Arrested: Blackburn's DJ Campbell was arrested in connection with the match-fixing scandal in December . In November 2013, members of an alleged . betting syndicate that included at least three footballers were arrested . on suspicion of fixing games in England. A month later, police arrested six people in connection with an investigation into spot-fixing in English football after a former Premier League defender allegedly told an undercover reporter he had been involved in rigging matches in return for money. Both cases are currently sub judice. In Scotland, from 103 respondents, there was one player who said he had played in a game that has since been identified as fixed, and one who had been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match, but did not report it. Of the 84 players who responded to the question as to whether they had bet against the rules on matches, 27 replied 'yes'. The survey concluded for Scotland the focus of future work should be on the 'dangers of gambling and enabling players to keep within the rules', with 'peer education' encouraged as a useful tool. Investigation: Officers from the National Crime Agency remove documents and equipment from the home of former Portsmouth player Stephen Sodje as they looked into allegations of match-fixing last year . The results in England and Scotland are far removed from a country like Greece where match fixing is deemed as being rife. From 211 players surveyed in Greece, 29 said they had played in a game that has since been identified as fixed; 27 have been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match, with 139 believing one or more games have been fixed in the past 12 months. As part of the 'Don't Fix It' campaign, spearheaded by FIFPro, UEFA and the compilers of the study, Birkbeck University in London, a Good Practice Guide is to be distributed next week to all associations. Dr Andrew Harvey, of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, said: 'This survey was the first large-scale attempt to ascertain the views of current players in regards to match-fixing. 'The objective was to better understand the issues that lead to match-fixing, in order to use this knowledge to define the prevention and education programme.' The over-riding message was that better education designed to prevent match-fixing and gambling is required, with each country to work on initiatives and solutions most relevant to their own specific problems. On camera: Defender Sam Sodje has been filmed allegedly admitting to fixing events in football matches . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Over 1,500 players from eight countries completed the questionnaire .
Results showed players believe match-fixing is not a major scourge .
In England, there were 121 respondents, 62 from the Premier League .
By . Ian Parkes, Press Association . Footballers in England are confident the game at its highest levels is clean of the scourge of match-fixing, a survey conducted by international players' union FIFPro has revealed. Over 1,500 players from eight countries - England, Scotland, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Slovenia - submitted responses to a questionnaire that tested their knowledge about the extent of fixing, approaches to fix matches, sharing inside information and betting rules. It further examined their beliefs in respect of the extent of fixing, the instigators and causes, prevention and education, as well as enquiring as to who they would trust to report information on match-fixing, how they would prefer to report information,and reasons that might prevent them from doing so. Protest: A Nigeria supporter backs his team before the match following allegations of match fixing . Other assessments included their practice in reporting approaches, their likelihood to report information, and their own betting practice. An assumption of the survey was that the majority of players are not involved in match-fixing and would therefore answer truthfully. In England, there were 121 respondents, with 100 of those aged 22 or under, and with 62 playing in the Barclays Premier League. Every player questioned said they had not played in a game that has since been identified as fixed, nor had they been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match, nor did they believe one or more games have been fixed in that period. In England, the survey concluded players' betting against the rules was the primary threat to integrity in the game, with nine from 111 players who responded confirming they had bet on matches. It added, however, the recent cases of alleged external criminal infiltration 'should act as a reminder that a more serious form of match fixing is a threat that cannot be ignored'. There have been a number of high-profile police investigations that have come to light. Arrested: Blackburn's DJ Campbell was arrested in connection with the match-fixing scandal in December . In November 2013, members of an alleged . betting syndicate that included at least three footballers were arrested . on suspicion of fixing games in England. A month later, police arrested six people in connection with an investigation into spot-fixing in English football after a former Premier League defender allegedly told an undercover reporter he had been involved in rigging matches in return for money. Both cases are currently sub judice. In Scotland, from 103 respondents, there was one player who said he had played in a game that has since been identified as fixed, and one who had been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match, but did not report it. Of the 84 players who responded to the question as to whether they had bet against the rules on matches, 27 replied 'yes'. The survey concluded for Scotland the focus of future work should be on the 'dangers of gambling and enabling players to keep within the rules', with 'peer education' encouraged as a useful tool. Investigation: Officers from the National Crime Agency remove documents and equipment from the home of former Portsmouth player Stephen Sodje as they looked into allegations of match-fixing last year . The results in England and Scotland are far removed from a country like Greece where match fixing is deemed as being rife. From 211 players surveyed in Greece, 29 said they had played in a game that has since been identified as fixed; 27 have been approached in the past 12 months to fix a match, with 139 believing one or more games have been fixed in the past 12 months. As part of the 'Don't Fix It' campaign, spearheaded by FIFPro, UEFA and the compilers of the study, Birkbeck University in London, a Good Practice Guide is to be distributed next week to all associations. Dr Andrew Harvey, of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, said: 'This survey was the first large-scale attempt to ascertain the views of current players in regards to match-fixing. 'The objective was to better understand the issues that lead to match-fixing, in order to use this knowledge to define the prevention and education programme.' The over-riding message was that better education designed to prevent match-fixing and gambling is required, with each country to work on initiatives and solutions most relevant to their own specific problems. On camera: Defender Sam Sodje has been filmed allegedly admitting to fixing events in football matches . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
levels is clean of the scourge of match-fixing, a FIFPro has revealed. Over 1,500 players from eight countries - England, Scotland, Finland, truthfully. In England, there were 121 football after a former Premier League defender