By David Gold
July 19 – Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal has been sentenced to two years in prison by a Finnish court for his role in a match fixing scandal in the country, while nine players have been spared jail and instead were handed suspended sentences for their part in the affair.
In a statement, the court said: “Perumal’s sentence was toughened by the fact that he had planned his actions and that he has acted as a member of an international organised group doing betting scams.”
Using a number of foreign players in the league, Perumal was able to convince them to help him fix the results of games between 2008 and February 2011, often for small wages.
Seven Zambian players and two Georgian players were among those bribed by Perumal.
The affair led to Tampere United being suspended from the Finnish League after officials at the club admitted receiving payments from a company Perumal was involved with.
Perumal has a colourful past, having been involved in putting up a fake Togolose side to face Bahrain in 2010.
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