To coincide with the start of the Men’s EHF EURO 2022, the European Handball Federation and Sportradar Integrity Services, a global supplier of sports integrity solutions, have launched a referee integrity education programme – the latest initiative of a wide-ranging relationship that focuses on protecting the integrity of the sport.

The new education programme is designed to provide EHF Referees of indoor handball and beach handball with the guiding principles and issues related to the integrity of the sport. The two-year course includes a blend of face-to-face and online workshops and ends with an assessment via the EHF’s online education platform. The course covers a range of integrity matters including the elements of sports integrity and an introduction to anti-match fixing.  

The Integrity Education Programme aims to safeguard the sport’s top European competitions, athletes and stakeholders on a long-term basis. It further underlines the EHF’s commitment to protecting the integrity of its sport and is a key pillar of its long-term association with Sportradar which first began in 2018 and was extended through to 2030 in early 2021.

EHF Secretary General Martin Hausleitner said: “The cooperation has already been very fruitful and has had an impact on handball of different levels – and not just at the top of the sport.  The new educational initiatives will build on this and the investigative elements that have taken place. Until now, it is likely that many referees have simply not realised how important their roles are in terms of maintaining integrity.”

George Bebetsos, EHF referee programme coordinator, said: “This is not just a sit-and-listen programme. This is a mandatory programme that will lead to certification through examination, and there will be workshops, webinars and online materials.

“There are only two factors that can influence the outcome of a match: the referee and the players. So, if we can influence and educate the referees as much as possible, that can only be beneficial for the integrity of the sport.”

Andreas Krannich, Managing Director Integrity Services, Sportradar said: “We commend the EHF for taking a proactive approach to integrity matters. The education programme that we’re delivering for them provides its referees with an in depth understanding of the risks of match-fixing and competition-manipulation, and outlines the importance of acting with integrity to protect everyone associated with the sport.”

The partnership with Sportradar continues to feature investigations into allegations of impropriety within the sport and use of its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS) to monitor all EHF events for unusual betting activities, with any suspicious matches subsequently reported to the EHF. More than 4,000 EHF matches have been monitored through the UFDS since the partnership began four years ago.