MOSCOW, November 2 - RAPSI. The State Duma has welcomed a draft law that the Russian president will soon submit on increasing the criminal and administrative sanctions for organizing fixed matches and bribing participating fighters.

The Duma hopes that this important law will be adopted as soon as possible, head of the State Duma Committee for Physical Education and Sports Igor Ananskikh, told RIA Novosti Friday.

He added that the draft law may be submitted to the State Duma in November and may pass the first reading by the end of the year.

Vedomosti daily reported on Friday that it is proposed that athletes, coaches, referees and organizers of sports events who rig competition results should punished by up to seven years in prison, while fines will be increased from 200,000 rubles ($6,373) to one million rubles ($31,865).

In addition, directly bribing players or organizers, inducing them to use their influence on a match, or colluding with them will be considered illegally influencing the result of a game. At the moment, the maximum punishment for bribing participants and organizers of professional sports events and commercial spectator sports is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Furthermore, the law proposes that sports federations will have to suspend an individual suspected of bribery from participating in competitions, and in the event the individual is found guilty, he or she must be disqualified.