Finland rocked by match-fixing scandal

Nine former footballers in Finland will be charged with accepting bribes in a court case that begins in June.

Maija Mononen, a district prosecutor from the Lapland Prosecutor’s Office, revealed the nine former players, who all played for Rovaniemen Palloseura, will face court.

But Mononen refused to name the players or give further details on the case, insisting all will be revealed in court.

It follows another match-fixing scandal in Finland, with AC Oulo’s Zambian brothers Donewell and Dominic Yobe confessing to playing a match ‘below their normal level’ during a 5-0 defeat to TPS.

The pair were both found guilty of taking 43,000 pounds to influence the match.

In a bigger match-fixing investigation in Germany, Ante Sapina was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prisonafter admitted he fixed the outcome of more than 20 fixtures.

Sapina was a leader in a betting ring that fixed a World Cup qualifying game and several matches in European club competitions and was given the sentence in German court on Thursday.

Sapina has already spent 17 months in jail, while another man – known as Marijo C – is also behind bars.