Zambian Soccer Players in Finnish League on Trial for Match-Fixing

A probe has begun centering around Singaporean Wilson Raj Perumal who is suspected by FIFA of fixing internationals involving African and Asian national teams.

Perumal is now alleged to have offered seven Zambian players in the Finnish football league and the individuals have gone on trial in a match-fixing investigation

Prosecutors say Perumal offered the players bribes of US$682, ambulance 000 to fix games in a scam that targeted Rovaniemi Palloseura (RoPs) while he is also accused of trying to bribe players at two other Finnish clubs.

Perumal, cialis who was arrested in February and has previously tried to flee, was guarded by two police officers as the charges were read in the Lapland District Court.

FIFA believes Perumal organized an infamous match last September, sending a fake Togo team to Bahrain for a friendly that the hosts won 3-0 and he also has links to fixing involving Zimbabwe national team matches played in the Far East.

The accused RoPs players – which also include two Georgians – were charged with accepting bribes to affect the outcome of matches and in cases where the desired result was not achieved, the money was paid back to Perumal, according to the charges.

The club have fired the players after the investigation started and are set to review its policy of bringing in players from Zambia, a trait that has been going for over 15 years.

“We will try to build the team first and foremost from Rovaniemi footballers, then players from Lapland and after that from the rest of Finland,” said managing director Antti Hietakangas.