Referee Srdjan Obradovic was sentenced to 15 months in prison on Thursday, plus a ten year suspension from the profession for abuse of authority as he favoured Spartak Subotica in their Serbian SuperLiga game against Radnicki Nis back in 2018.
The sentence also dictates that Obradovic is prohibited from holding any position in the Serbian Football Federation for the next ten years.
The ruling, which can be appealed, was handed down by the Anti-Corruption Chamber of the High Court of Novi Sad, as reported by the Serbian news agency Tanjug.
Spartak and Radnicki faced each other in the penultimate league round on May 13, 2018 in Subotica, and the winner would clinch third position and qualification for the following season’s Europa League.
The home side scored two penalties, one of which was described as “scandalous” by the local press, and won 2-0, with the visitors going down to 10 men after their striker was sent off.
Police officers questioned the referee after the match because his decisions raised suspicion over possible match fixing and his testimony was used by the prosecution.
©Marca
Cover image – N Paušić