The verdict in the long-running high-profile case was announced by a court in the southwestern city of Wrocław on Monday.
The defendant, identified only as Ryszard F. and by his nickname ‘The Barber,’ was found guilty of almost all of his over 100 charges, including that he offered bribes to fix matches at various tiers between July 2003 and June 2006.
Together with ‘The Barber,’ 30 other defendants, including football officials, referees and players were convicted on Monday, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.
They were handed suspended prison sentences ranging from eight months to two years.
The judgments, which are subject to appeal, came after Polish investigators in 2005 opened a large-scale match-fixing probe, with the subsequent detention of more than 200 players, coaches and officials.
‘The Barber’ was accused of establishing and masterminding an organised criminal group described as a “football mafia.”
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP