June 20 – Former Czech Football Association deputy head Roman Berbr and several other officials have been sentenced for their involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
Berbr (pictured) was convicted of embezzlement and received a three-year suspended sentence and 2 million Czech crown fine (around £68,000), according to the verdict issued by the county court in the western city of Plzen.
Roman Rogoz, former sports director of the Slavoj Vysehrad club, was given a four-year prison term and 400,000 Czech crown (£13,600) fine while former player and official Michal Kanik received a two-and-a-half year suspended sentence and a fine of 130,000 Czech crowns (£4,433).
Another of the four key defendants in the case, former referee Tomas Grimm, is said to be cooperating with the law enforcement authorities and previously received a suspended sentence.
The prosecution demanded jail terms for Berbr and Kanik and can appeal the decision.
Altogether, 16 people were convicted of bribery, embezzlement and participation in an organised crime group that was involved in fixing at least 10 matches in 2019 and 2020 in the second and third-tier leagues.
The scandal broke out in October 2020 when Czech police raided the association headquarters and other places as part of a corruption and match-fixing investigation, targeting referees and soccer officials.
Berbr, who resigned from his association post following the raids, remained in police custody for three months. He pleaded not guilty.
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