By Andrew Warshaw
December 14 – Bulgarian police have detained 12 players and two alleged organisers in the first arrests of an ongoing investigation into match-fixing.
Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said four of the 11 would probably be charged.
Six of the players are understood to be from Chernomorets FC who lie sixth in the country’s top league.
“We support the interior ministry’s decisive actions in the fight against organised crime and all the occurrences that threaten the basic principle of football – fair play,” the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) said in a statement.
Media reports of widespread match-fixing and corruption have been rife in Bulgaria for years but no one has been brought to trial and the European Commission has criticised the authorities for doing little to fight the problem.
In September, Bulgaria’s prosecutor opened an investigation into claims of match-fixing in four domestic games this season.
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