Czech police swoop to arrest more than 50 in match-fixing scandal
March 25 – Czech football has been rocked by a wide-ranging match-fixing investigation, with polices swooping to detain dozens of players, referees and club officials as well as other individuals linked to the Czech game.
Reports from the Czech Republic say that police carried out coordinated raids on Tuesday morning, targeting suspected match-fixing and bribery activity linked to betting.
More than 50 people have reportedly been detained, with operations taking place across the country and abroad.
Prosecutors are calling for jail sentences of nine to 14 years for the individuals arrested, with the cases being classified as organised crime group activity that under Czech law receives harsher sentencing.
The Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR) said they moved quickly to respond, calling an emergency executive committee meeting. The arrests come just days before the country’s World Cup 2026 play-off. Their first play-in match takes place tomorrow evening in Prague against Republic of Ireland. If they win they will play either Denmark or North Macedonia for a place in the finals.
FAČR chairman David Trunda sought to distance the governing body’s leadership from implication in the match-fixing probe which has not seen anyone from the federation detained and has been under investigation for three years.
“The intervention does not concern anyone from the management of Czech football,” Trunda said.
“UEFA has been informed about the whole situation from the beginning and praised the association’s approach.”
FAČR integrity officer Kamil Javůrek added: “The cooperation with the Czech Police is long-term, the FAČR is the initiator and the one who alerted the police.
“It is clear to me that there are many questions, but for logical reasons we cannot say too many details, because the intervention is still ongoing. We have been conducting an internal investigation throughout, in cooperation with UEFA and foreign colleagues.”
The scale of the case makes it one of the biggest match-fixing scandals in professional football in Europe to date. FAČR ethics committee chairman Martin Holub confirmed that 47 disciplinary proceedings have already been opened.
Among those under investigation are several referees, as well as players and club officials. Standout midfielder Samuel Šigut and Matěj Hýbl and their club MFK Karviná are all being investigated, with the top-flight side currently the only first division club facing formal proceedings.
Despite the arrests, Karviná insisted operations continued as normal.
“Nothing was happening at the stadium. It was completely quiet. The team was training normally,” said club spokesman Adam Januszek. “We are waiting for news, we don’t know anything.”
Elsewhere, Slezský FC Opava, who have two players named as suspected of fixing games – centre back Sebastian Pejša and Nicolas Tilkeridis – said they had yet to be formally contacted.
“No one has contacted us yet, neither from the police nor from the FAČR,” said executive director Filip Labuda. “We have to go through everything and will comment accordingly.”
The full details are still limited, but investigation centres on alleged bribery – reportedly paid in euros – to fix match outcomes for betting markets.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at power.l1774445587labto1774445587ofdlr1774445587late1774445587sni@g1774445587it’s him.1774445587yrrah1774445587. Additional reporting by power.l1774445587labto1774445587ofdlr1774445587late1774445587sni@n1774445587Donkeys1774445587eat.l1774445587uap1774445587.
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