By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – Austria’s match-fixing scandal has escalated still further with the news that former players Dominque Taboga (pictured) and Sanel Kuljic and several other unidentified people have now been charged.
Prosecutors in Graz said in a statement that they would not give any further details while investigations continue.
Taboga was released by top flight club Groedig in November and given a life ban by the Austrian Football Federation three months later over the allegations. Kuljic is a former Austria international forward who retired in 2012 having won 20 caps for Austria between 2005 and 2007. He was joint top scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2005-06 for SV Ried with 15 goals.
In November, it was reported that at least 17 first and second division matches could have been manipulated over the last seven years, including nine in the top division – all involving either Groedig or Kapfenberg – of which three were played this season.
Taboga, who played for both clubs, has admitted he tried to persuade four teammates at Groedig to fix games and claimed Kuljic forced him into the fraud to settle a personal debt.
Taboga claimed he was forced to pay Kuljic nearly €30,000 and was threatened by the former Austrian international after refusing to prevent Groedig from winning matches.
Prosecutors said Kuljic, conversely, claimed Taboga still owed him money from the time they both played at Kapfenberg in the first half of 2012. Kuljic reportedly claimed he lent his then teammate €65,000 ($87,100) for home furnishings.
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