By Andrew Warshaw
November 14 – Austria is the latest European country to be hit by the global match-fixing scourge with a former international reportedly detained after apparently attempting to blackmail SV Grodig defender Dominique Taboga into manipulating one of the country’s top-flight games.
According to a police report, made public by Austrian media, three people have been arrested over the incident.
Taboga was apparently threatened that if he did not comply with the blackmailers’ demands, his career would meet “an abrupt end”.
Grödig’s manager Christian Haas was reported as saying: “He told us that he was being blackmailed to fix matches. We were shocked.”
According to Austrian reports the former player is allegedly Sanel Kuljic, who scored three goals in 20 games for Austria between 2005 and 2007. Kuljic, whose parents come from Bosnia-Herzegovina, has played for a number of clubs in Austria, Greece and Switzerland.
A Salzburg prosecution spokesperson confirmed Taboga had also been forced to hand over “some €70,000” after being threatened with violence against him and his family.
During the handover, police arrested three individuals including a “former first league pro”. Grodig are currently in their first ever season in the Austrian Bundesliga.
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