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Soccer Capsules: Match-fixing a bigger threat to sport than doping
Comments 0 | Recommend 0PARIS — Union Royale Namur is not much of a soccer club, with not much of a team. But for its supporters, at least it was their club, their team. Or so they thought.
The lowly Belgian side, like clubs elsewhere in Europe, is now grappling with the unpalatable prospect that some of its players may have taken bribes as part of the continent's biggest match-fixing scandal. Fans like Serge Henry, a youth club administrator who has followed UR Namur since he was a boy, are now asking themselves whether the hours and emotion they spent cheering on their teams were wasted, robbed from them by crooked soccer players and match officials working with criminals.
Match-fixing has been likened to doping in its pernicious ability to undermine the integrity of sport. But really, it is worse. However imperfect, there are tests to catch drug cheats. But bribery doesn't show up in blood and urine samples. Detecting players and officials who have sold themselves for a fat envelope or a flat-screen television is harder. Proving the conspiracy can be harder still.
Which is why the investigation out of Germany into match-fixing in Europe is encouraging. It shows that corruption in soccer is being taken seriously, at least by some. The only thing worse than knowing that as many as 200 European games may have been tampered with would have been not knowing. It is also encouraging that police and prosecutors are leading the probe, because fixes and the betting syndicates often behind them are foes too large, complex and even dangerous for sports administrators to tackle alone.
When bribes don't work, criminal gangs have sometimes blackmailed or threatened players with reprisals if they don't play ball, UEFA's betting expert Karl Dhont told a seminar on these issues in August. Dhont pointed to the Asian betting market as the source of the danger, with criminal gangs looking to wager on soccer as a means to launder money. To do that, it helps if results of games can be guaranteed.
"The people who want to influence these matches, these players, are criminals and they use any criminal method they can," says Detlev Zenglein of Early Warning System, a company set up by FIFA to watch for irregular betting activities. "It's a big threat."
For the moment, the prosecutors in Bochum, Germany, who specialize in fighting organized crime are giving few details about the ongoing probe. We know that 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland have been arrested, that more than 50 raids were conducted in Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Britain, and that 200 games involving clubs from 11 countries are suspected. The matches include qualifiers in the Champions League, Europe's showcase club competition, and its cousin, the Europa League. Ring leaders are believed to have made at least $15 million.
At Namur, the only thing that fans and club administrators have to go on are unconfirmed press reports suggesting that two matches it lost last March are among 17 second-division games in Belgium under investigation. Specifically, the reports flagged Namur's 3-0 defeat to Olympic Charleroi and 2-0 loss to Oud-Heverlee Leuven.
Namur administrator Roger Van Lierde says he noticed nothing amiss and notes they've still not heard official word of whether the club is indeed under suspicion. He attributes Namur's disastrous 2008-2009 season — it finished a distant last among 19 teams and dropped to division three — to a weak squad and turmoil as a succession of investors came and left.
"I didn't see anything, and I followed all of the matches from the start to finish," he says. If matches were fixed, then, "I need to see proof."
But Jean-Claude Baudart, who was then the club president, isn't so sure. He had started to notice that players weren't performing in games as they did in training. Ater Namur was hammered 5-0 by FC Molenbeek Brussels last October, he says he wrote to the Belgian soccer federation that something was wrong.
"I was suspicious that it was not very clean," he says. "I wrote the next day."
"There were games where we played very well for the first half, with the score at 0-0, and at the end we had lost 7-0," he adds.
Up in the stands, fans were suspicious, too, says Henry, a season ticket holder who has supported the club since his dad first took him to games as a kid.
"We were beaten twice 7-1, once 5-0, once 5-1, and three times 4-0," says the 42-year-old.
"The supporters weren't fooled. Although we couldn't point to any particular players, the whole feeling was one of malaise," he adds. "We used to say so during the matches. We could see that the players weren't giving their all. But was it because they were discouraged, because they didn't have the skills or because the matches were fixed? I can't be sure."
Across Europe, these are the type of questions that sports authorities will need to answer when the investigation is completed.
And the punishments, when they come, must be exemplary.
"I want to know who fixed what," says Henry. "We want the players' names."
John Leicester covers international sports for The Associated Press.
Lawyer: Sedatives given to cooks and doctors
FRANKFURT — The international gang suspected in Europe's biggest match-fixing scandal supplied sedatives to team doctors and hotel cooks to drug players in matches to be manipulated, a lawyer for one of the arrested suspects said Friday.
Prosecutors believe the gang did not shy away from "locking up people in basements" or "sedating players," lawyer Burkhard Benecken said.
"According to prosecutors, they were extremely violent," he said.
The doctor of a Slovenian team was given sedatives to use on his own players, and the chefs in luxury hotels were given drugs to disable players, Benecken said.
"Whether it actually happened is not known," he added.
Benecken represents one of 15 people arrested in Germany and says he has seen the files of Bochum prosecutors leading the investigation in what soccer officials say is the biggest match-fixing scandal to hit Europe, with 200 games suspected of being fixed to benefit the gang of bettors. The games include some qualifying matches in the Champions League, the continent's top club competition.
Prosecutors say the gang is suspected of bribing players, coaches, referees and other officials to manipulate games so that it could make money by betting on the fixed games. About 200 people are suspected of being involved and the ring leaders are believed to have made at least $15 million.
The prosecutor's office in Bochum, which specializes in fighting organized crime, has declined to give details about its ongoing investigation besides saying that 15 people have been arrested in Germany and two in Switzerland.
Benecken's client, identified only as Deniz C., is accused of kidnapping and fraud and is suspected of making nearly $1.5 million in bets on manipulated games.
"He is supposed to have kidnapped somebody and held him for three days," the lawyer said.
The betting network had a global presence and was active in several Asian countries, with a middleman based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Benecken said, citing prosecutors' files.
The prosecutors have not identified any of the suspects.
Theo van Seggelen, secretary general of FIFPro, the international umbrella group of players' unions, said most of the players were not to blame.
"Only in exceptional circumstances are players involved. In most of the cases, the people involved are agents and people outside the dressing room," he told The Associated Press. "We should not underestimate the problem, but we should not overestimate it either. Thousands of matches are played by thousands and thousands of players. Professional players play to win.
"It's a team sport. You can't ask a whole team to (fix a match). Only the goalkeeper can do it and if he does it once he is thrown out of the team."
UEFA said Friday it needed to work with national federations to better educate players. The European football authority said the investigation was a "wake-up call" to focus on players' entourages.
Meanwhile, the German fourth-tier club Ulm said it had suspended three players who are suspected of involvement in match-fixing. The three players are Davor Kraljevic, Marijo Marinovic and Dinko Radojevic.
Kraljevic's apartment was searched by police Thursday.
Ulm vice president Mario Meuler said the club is assuming that some of its games last season had been manipulated.
And at another fourth-tier club, SC Verl, the office of the president was broken into and a small safe and paper shredder vanished.
German authorities originally listed nine countries where they believe the manipulations had occurred: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey.
On Wednesday, UEFA also named clubs in Albania and Latvia and identified the five as KF Tirana, FC Dinaburg, KS Vllaznia, NK IB Ljubljana and Honved Budapest. Seven qualifying games in the Champions League and the Europa League between July 16 and Aug. 6 involving the five clubs were allegedly manipulated.
-- Nesha Starcevic
UEFA wants to coach players to avoid match-fixers
NYON, Switzerland — UEFA wants to coach football players on how to avoid associating with criminals in the wake of Europe's biggest match-fixing scandal.
The European football authority said on Friday that the German-based investigation was a "wake-up call" to focus on players' entourages.
"The case in Germany should be a wake-up call for clubs and federations to ... take measures to coach players not only on but also off the field," UEFA said in an e-mailed response to The Associated Press.
UEFA said it shared responsibility with national federations to help educate players and clubs.
"The federations, including UEFA, have to start an awareness program for players, and even clubs, informing them about the risks involved," it said.
In the United States, the four major professional sports leagues covering American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey — the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL — have long operated programs warning athletes about issues surrounded gambling.
European football's match-fixing scandal broke last week when German police arrested 15 people suspected of fixing 200 games as part of an organized-betting operation.
Armed with information supplied by UEFA, specialist fraud prosecutors in Bochum are investigating matches from nine national leagues, plus UEFA's Champions League and Europa League games involving teams from a further two countries.
Prosecutors say about 200 people are suspected of being involved in bribing players, coaches, referees and other officials to manipulate games and bet on the outcome.
The ring leaders are believed to have made at least euro10 million ($15 million).
UEFA has opened its own investigation into three referees and another official it suspects of helping fix matches.
World Cup
Scandals threaten South Africa WCup show
LONDON — From FIFA president Sepp Blatter to David Beckham, soccer's big names will converge on South Africa next week to celebrate the draw for first World Cup on African turf. Cheating, match fixing and fan violence also have forced their way onto the agenda.
Blatter's personal crusade to bring soccer's biggest event to Africa has led to excitement and optimism that a continent which already provides some of the sport's best players now has been entrusted with staging its biggest tournament.
But the upbeat mood looks to be getting overshadowed by other issues.
FIFA's ailing attempt to maintain "fair play" in the world's most popular sport could well be sidetracked by squabbles over Thierry Henry's hand ball, which led to the goal that put France into next year's World Cup and knocked out Ireland.
The Irish demanded a replay, the French weren't interested and FIFA turned Ireland down. But the issue appears set to drag on as FIFA struggles to find ways to stop similar skullduggery on the field.
Cheating on the field has become one of the recent scourges of soccer, and the blatant bit of hand control by one of the game's biggest names has led to more loud calls for video technology to help World Cup referees police the game. Blatter, who wants to keep the game in officials' hands, may have to give way this time.
The fact that Blatter, who has remained silent about the Henry storm, has called an emergency meeting of the FIFA executive committee two days ahead of Friday's draw in Cape Town suggests soccer's governing body will take some action. Although it may not approve technology — allowing the match officials to see TV replays of key plays before making rulings — it may follow UEFA's trial in using five referees on the field instead of three.
To do that at a World Cup would be considered a radical move in the context of the slow pace at which soccer tends to make changes. If it became official, it would also lead to a major upheaval in competitions around the globe.
The furor has little relevance to South Africa's hosting of the World Cup. But its organizers already have enough to deal with, now that the championship is less than seven months away.
Despite delay after delay, all 10 World Cup stadiums are on schedule to be ready for the June 11 start of the tournament. But there remain transportation problems and accommodation shortfalls, with 2010 World Cup organizing boss Danny Jordaan admitting those issues won't be settled until after the draw is made and teams and fans know where they will be going.
"It is only after the draw that we will get to know the profile of the fans who will be at a particular city and only then can we fine-tune preparations," he said. "After the draw, a lot of challenges will emerge."
While striving to present a positive image of South Africa, Jordaan also is trying and convince skeptical fans from around the world that his crime-ridden country is safe. Official government statistics of 50 murders a day don't help his case.
That's on top of the security problems that hooligan fans from the likes of England, Germany, the Netherlands and eastern Europe might pose to a nation that never has had to deal with them before.
South African police have spent some $93 million on equipment, including new helicopters, pursuit vehicles and the latest crime-fighting and prevention technology. Much of that is to deal with potential attacks on the teams.
"They will have a special focus," senior superintendent Vish Naidoo said. "We will have teams of highly trained and highly skilled police to protect the teams. There will be personal protection for the teams, the players and the coaching staffs, as well, and every training center will have its own police command center."
The investigations into a huge wave of match fixing and betting scams in central and eastern Europe also are on the agenda of FIFA's executive committee. Up to 200 games are being investigated, which should serve as a warning that even the World Cup could be a target of betting cartels.
All these are issues that Blatter, Jordaan and the hundreds of hardworking South African organizers didn't expect to worry about when the plans were drawn up to stage next week's events.
They kick off with the Soccerex conference in Johannesburg, where those interested in the business end of soccer will mix with Blatter and other leading figures in the game.
The United States, England and other nations bidding to stage the World Cups in 2018 and '22 are also in South Africa to further their cases, and that's where Beckham comes in. The Los Angeles Galaxy star, who stands a good chance to play at his fourth World Cup next June, is one of the vice presidents backing England's bid to stage the competition for the first time since 1966.
With his high-profile image, Beckham will be one of the major personalities at next week's events as South Africa tries to present a glossy image and show itself off as a worthy World Cup host.
The country's crime rate, logistical headaches and soccer's own problems are likely to take away some of the shine.
-- Robert Millward
Chile cleared to play in World Cup
SANTIAGO, Chile — Chilean club Rangers has dropped a court case that threatened the national team's participation at next year's World Cup.
FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, had said it could kick Chile out of the World Cup unless Rangers withdrew the court case, which contested the club's demotion to the second division of the national league.
The move clears the way for Chile to play in the tournament, its first appearance since 1998.
The club's move came late Thursday after FIFA had suggested it could expel the national federation, which would leave the national team out of the tournament in South Africa.
Rangers was deducted three points for using six foreign players — the limit is five — in a league match on Nov. 8. The three points cost the club relegation to the second division, and last week it brought the case to a Chilean court.
FIFA statutes prohibit soccer clubs, players, officials and organizations from taking disputes to civil courts instead of a sports arbitration panel.
Chile is one of five South American nations, along with Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, to have qualified for the finals.
Elsewhere
Jacquet: Domenech should have left last year
PARIS — Former France coach Aime Jacquet, who led the team to its sole World Cup victory, said Friday that Raymond Domenech should have been fired last year.
Jacquet says that Domenech should have lost his coaching job after France's campaign at the 2008 European Championship when the team failed to advance from the group stage. Instead, Domenech was kept in the post by the French football federation and struggled to qualify for next year's World Cup.
"The French federation didn't understand the nature of the job," Jacquet told France Football magazine. "They should have protected him from himself."
Jacquet insisted that Domenech's team "played a bad game" in its recent World Cup playoff against Ireland. France eventually went through with a contested 2-1 aggregate win. Following a 1-0 victory in Dublin thanks to Nicolas Anelka's deflected shot, France secured a 1-1 draw at home after Thierry Henry handled the ball in the lead-up to William Gallas' equalizer.
Jacquet, who led France to its maiden World Cup win in 1998 and has been a long-time supporter of Domenech, said it's time for him to explain the team's poor run.
"He should explain what happened and, more generally, what has been going on since 2008," Jacquet said. "Even his players are waiting for it (an explanation)."
Jacquet, who coached France from 1994 to 1998, said it is impossible to perform well in the post for more than four years. Domenech took over from Jacques Santini in 2004.
Also Friday, Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen said that Domenech should have left after eliminating Ireland.
"I have nice feelings towards Raymond Domenech," Le Guen was quoted as saying on L'Equipe's Web site. "But to be honest, I would have preferred that he found a deal with the French federation. That would have stopped the whole thing."
According to the former Paris Saint-Germain coach, Domenech will never be free of criticism.
Fulham signs Brede Hangeland to new contract
LONDON — Fulham responded to the repeated speculation linking Brede Hangeland to other clubs by signing the defender to an improved contract through to the end of the 2012-13 season.
The 28-year-old Norway captain was linked with bigger teams including Arsenal after helping Fulham avoid relegation in 2008 and then finish in an all-time best seventh place in the Premier League last season.
But Fulham said Friday that the Texas-born defender will now stay with the west London side.
"I am delighted that Brede has been justly rewarded with a new deal," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said. "He is an extremely important player for us and a model professional."
Hodgson signed Hangeland from FC Copenhagen during a busy January 2008 transfer window shortly after he himself joined the Cottagers.
He helped Fulham recover from a disastrous first half of the season and the club avoided demotion to second tier on goal difference after winning its last three matches.
Hangeland then started 37 of Fulham's 38 Premier League games during the 2008-09 season as the club, which is mostly overshadowed by local rival Chelsea, achieved the best league position of its 130-year history.
"I am delighted to have just signed a new deal and hope that this will now end months of speculation about my future," Hangeland said. "I have always maintained that I am happy at Fulham and committed to doing everything I can to ensure ongoing success of the team.
"It's great to see that the club has made great progress since I first joined."
Fulham is 10th after 13 matches this season ahead of its home game against Bolton on Saturday.
Robinho set for Man City return after 3 months out
MANCHESTER, England — Brazil forward Robinho looks set to make his first Manchester City appearance for three months against Hull on Saturday after being passed fit by coach Mark Hughes.
City's record signing has been struggling with a stress fracture in an ankle sustained on World Cup qualifying duty in September.
"We are delighted that he is back, and fit and well, because he will have a real influence for us this year I am sure," Hughes said Friday. "If anyone is out for a long period sometimes you can forget how accomplished they are. Having worked with him this week and seen him back in the group, we can see the qualities that he can bring to the side."
The 25-year-old Robinho last played for the Premier League club on Aug. 27. In the meantime, he has been the focus of speculation linking him to Barcelona.
"Robinho is a guy that generates comment and since he has been out with his injury the news has clearly not been about what he is doing on the pitch," Hughes said. "Instead it is about what might happen and comments about his future, more often than not from people without any valid insight."
Hughes will be looking to Robinho to help end a run of six draws in the league.
Pompey hoping to spend in January transfer window
PORTSMOUTH, England — Portsmouth is hopeful the Premier League will lift its ban on the club buying players in time for the January transfer window.
Pompey was hit with the indefinite transfer embargo last month because of debts owed to other English clubs.
But chief executive Peter Storrie said Friday that "it should certainly be lifted in time for the window opening."
Storrie also said that owner Ali Al-Faraj, the Saudi Arabian property magnate, will make money available in January for Avram Grant, who will only officially move across from director of football to manager when work permit issues are resolved.
The 54-year-old former Israel and Chelsea manager is replacing Paul Hart with Portsmouth bottom of the standings.
"It's a big challenge," Grant said. "We deserve to stay in the Premier League."
Juventus racist fans targeted in France
PARIS — A French anti-racist group says it will file a lawsuit against Juventus supporters who chanted racist abuse about Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli during a match at Bordeaux.
The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism said in statement Friday that it wants French authorities to open an investigation and "seek the most severe sanctions against their perpetrators" after Juventus fans insulted Balotelli during Wednesday's 2-0 loss at Bordeaux in Champions League.
Balotelli, an Italian of Ghanaian descent, is regularly taunted during Serie A matches.
The LICRA asked UEFA for a "firm reaction."
No imminent return for United defender Ferdinand
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says defender Rio Ferdinand is not set for an imminent return from a back injury despite "making progress."
Ferdinand has not played since a 2-0 loss at Liverpool on Nov. 25 when he was easily beaten to the ball by Fernando Torres, allowing the Spain striker to score.
Ferguson said Friday that "it's difficult with back injuries. Nature sometimes helps you, but we are looking forward to him coming back."
Fellow defenders John O'Shea and Jonny Evans are also a doubt for United's match at Portsmouth on Saturday.
Iniesta agrees to 1-year extension thru 2015
BARCELONA, Spain — Andres Iniesta has agreed to a one-year contract extension that keeps him at European champion Barcelona through 2015.
The 25-year-old Spain international also saw his buy-out clause rise to €200 million ($300 million).
Iniesta says his dream is to retire at Barcelona. Iniesta has helped Barcelona win nine trophies since his debut in 2002, including Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles last year.
League Roundups/Previews
Arsenal's Almunia: no room for error vs. Chelsea
LONDON — For all the silky football and attacking flair, Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia knows the Premier League title will remain elusive unless his team avoids making sloppy mistakes.
A surprise defeat at Sunderland — the first in more than two months — has left Arsenal eight points adrift of Chelsea going into Sunday's match against the league leader, albeit with a game in hand.
"Because they are one of our direct opponents in the title race we have to make sure we have no silly mistakes," the 32-year-old Almunia told Friday's edition of the London Evening Standard. "People are used to seeing Arsenal as a great team with beautiful football but if we lose our identity for four or five games in the season, you are not going to win the title. Without your identity, you have nothing and you will lose.
"There are players who can lead this team and have great character but I think more people have to show leadership no matter what age they are. In football, with no character you don't win anything."
Arsenal defender William Gallas has a 50-50 chance of featuring because of an eye problem, but Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin will be available despite needing staples in a wound after a clash of heads with Gallas in the Champions League victory over Standard Liege on Tuesday.
The dangerman on Sunday will be Didier Drogba, who has scored nine league goals for Chelsea this season.
"Drogba is very strong and is in a very good place so we have to be careful about him," Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue, the striker's Ivory Coast teammate, told ESPN. "It is very difficult to beat Chelsea at the moment because they are very, very solid and very, very focused. But me, I believe in our team.
"I think it is important to play our game, play forward and to think we can do something against them."
Chelsea's trip to Arsenal is one of three derby matches on Sunday, with Wolverhampton hosting Birmingham and Liverpool making the short trip to Everton.
Defeat for either manager in the Merseyside battle at Goodison Park would further destabilize their positions.
Rafa Benitez has guided Liverpool to just two wins in 10 matches — a slump that has seen the side crash out of the Champions League and slide down the Premier League standings to seventh.
"Benitez has shown that he is the right man to take Liverpool forward," said striker Fernando Torres, who will face a late fitness test. "Now is the time for everybody to stick together. We must be united to finish as high as possible in the Premier League. I am convinced that we will end up in the top four."
While Liverpool's priority is securing one of the four Champions League spots, Everton is becoming embroiled in a relegation struggle. David Moyes is accepting full responsibility for Everton winning just one of its last 10 matches, sending the team to within four points of the bottom three.
"You can't really say that both teams are going into it playing equally as badly," Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini said. "Everton's run of results has been worse, so we cannot afford to be complacent in any way."
Bottom-place Portsmouth has changed manager this week in an attempt to retain its topflight status.
Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant, who is switching from his role as Portsmouth's director of football to replace Paul Hart, has a daunting first test Saturday at home to defending champion Manchester United, which is looking to close the five-point gap on Chelsea.
"Avram's knowledge is immense," Portsmouth goalkeeper David James said. "He's like Yoda (from Star Wars). His pearls of wisdom are far-reaching. He is just what we need to get us out of trouble. He's very different and profound which appeals to me.
"He has the total respect of me and will get the instant respect of the players. Avram has got what it takes for a relegation fight."
In Saturday's late match, fourth-place Tottenham will be looking to build on its 9-1 demolition of Wigan with a victory over Aston Villa, which is one place and three points behind Spurs.
Manchester City still harbors top four ambitions, but the expensively assembled squad must end a six-match drawing streak against a resurgent Hull on Saturday.
Blackburn will be hosting Stoke without Sam Allardyce in the dugout as the manager recovers from scheduled heart surgery on Friday. Also Saturday, Burnley is at West Ham and Wigan hosts Sunderland.
-- Rob Harris
Independiente defeats Huracan 2-0
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Leonel Galeano and Dario Gandin scored as Independiente defeated lowly Huracan 2-0 on Friday to move up to fourth in the Argentine Apertura league standings.
The victory improved Independiente to 29 points, six behind leader Banfield, while Huracan is next to last.
In Friday's other game, Rosario Central was held to a 1-1 by Atletico Tucuman. Rosario improved to 27 points and Tucuman has 16 points.
The remaining games in the round will be played Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
On Saturday it's: Chacarita vs. Godoy Cruz, and River Plate vs. Estudiantes.
On Sunday: San Lorenzo vs. Boca Juniors, Tigre vs. Velez Sarsfield, and Banfield vs. Racing.
On Monday: Colon vs. Newell's Old Boys, Gimnasia vs. Argentinos Juniors and Arsenal vs. Lanus.
Cologne's draw helps in relegation fight
FRANKFURT — Cologne earned a valuable point in the fight against relegation with a scoreless draw against Bochum in the Bundesliga on Friday.
The guests from Cologne had the better chances in the contest but could not take advantage of a strong defense, which has not allowed a goal in the last five road matches.
Milivoje Novakovic had a golden opportunity to give Cologne the victory but was just centimeters (inches) wide right with six minutes left. But the attack has been Cologne's problem, scoring just twice.
Cologne improved to 13th place with 13 points from 14 matches, a point from the relegation zone.
Bochum was unable to build upon its win at Hamburg last week, though it jumped one spot to 16th place with 12 points.
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