Mutschke is in charge

FIFA announced today (2/3/12) that top German police and security executive Ralf Mutschke (52), senior manager at the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) and a former INTERPOL director, has been appointed as FIFA’s Director of Security as of 1 June 2012.

Mutschke will be in charge of the new FIFA Security Division, responsible for all security matters related to FIFA competitions across the world, the global security concepts for football in general, security around FIFA headquarters in Zurich, the FIFA President and the FIFA administration, as well as for matters related to the integrity and protection of the game itself.

“We have decided to strengthen the former security department, making it into a full division in order to continue to tackle all issues related to football security and the protection of the integrity of the game. This is another major step in our determination to ensure a clean and safe sport and to underline our commitment to the fight against match-fixing in football. We are extremely pleased that someone of the calibre of Ralf Mutschke has decided to join us and we are convinced that he has all the right qualities and expertise to lead this division successfully,” said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

“My tasks as Director of Security will be manifold. For me, the main issue will be the integrity of FIFA competitions. The focus here will be on match-fixing, betting fraud and corruption. The initiatives that FIFA has already launched are good steps in the right direction. I will now have to pursue these initiatives stringently but also build upon them and implement them consistently with the involvement of INTERPOL and national security authorities. With this in mind, I will be able to call upon more than 30 years of experience with the BKA in the fight against national and particularly international crime,” added Mutschke.

Mutschke has 33 years of experience in various roles at the BKA, where he is currently a senior manager leading the operational services subdivision and the deputy head of the central CID services division. His previous experience at the BKA includes supervising contact with team security officers at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011.

A former police officer in Germany, Mutschke also held leading positions at INTERPOL, where he was the director of the regional and national police services (2000-2002) and the assistant director of the sub-directorate for crimes against persons and property (1998-2000). He has also played football for various clubs in Germany at the highest amateur level (Sportfreunde Seligenstadt, Rot-Weiss Frankfurt and SV Wiesbaden).