Integrity the key to achieving clean football

LaLiga took part in the Club Management Programme sessions as part of the activities organised by the European Club Association (ECA) which were held at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on 10 and 11 January. Alfredo Lorenzo, LaLiga's director of integrity and security, was tasked with giving a presentation on The Importance of Integrity in Sport, in which he focussed on underscoring LaLiga's working methods in its bid to achieve clean football.

Lorenzo explained the different ways which currently exist to corrupt sport in general and more specifically football, and why they mean that integrity is so important: "There are players who earn little, who do not receive their full salary, or who are paid late. Some friendly games are also susceptible to corruption. There are also illegal bookmakers and anyone can place a bet from anywhere in the world." Other causes which can alter the normal course of events in football are "that professional careers are short, people decide to look after their own interests, or in some cases they are too young or too old."

In addition to LaLiga, clubs including Real Madrid, AZ Alkmaar and Juventus FC also took part in the conference, which featured a visit to the Wanda Metropolitano stadium and a tour of the Santiago Bernabeu.