Croatian football officials detained in match-fixing probe
ZAGREB, Croattia (AFP) — Two top Croatian football officials were detained under suspicion of taking bribes and rigging matches, police said yesterday.
Croatia football federation (HNS) vice-president and former referee Zeljko Siric and head of the national refereeing association Stjepan Djedovic had also their cars and houses searched.
Local media reported that the two were detained after taking euro 30,000 (US $40,000) in bribes from an undercover agent to fix Croatia’s First Division matches.
Croatia launched a probe into suspicious games in late 2009 after receiving information from German police.
The country’s anti-graft prosecutor last December charged 19 Croat and two Slovenian nationals suspected of being involved in fixing First Division football matches.
They were accused of promising money to club players, coaches and officials to fix results and influence the outcome of matches.
