Prosecutors charge suspects over 2020 Austrian Cup match-fixing

The Klagenfurt prosecutor’s office has filed charges against four men over alleged match-fixing in a 2020 Austrian Cup game, ORF Kärnten reported. Stadl-Paura, then a third-division team, lost 7-1 to second-division Austria Klagenfurt at Wörthersee Stadium in August 2020.

The defendants are a former official, a 55-year-old Austrian who is serving a prison sentence for drug offences, a 33-year-old Montenegrin whose whereabouts are unknown, and a 43-year-old South Korean man. The charges include aggravated fraud and attempted aggravated fraud. The South Korean, who was a sponsor at the time, is alleged to have placed large bets in Asia on the match result. He denies the allegations and was questioned by authorities in Asia.

Authorities could not establish how much was wagered or won, as bets and payouts in Asia were made in cash, spokesperson Markus Kitz told the APA news agency. Prosecutors therefore put the alleged damage at between 5,000 and 300,000 euros. A 55-year-old defendant, the only one to partly admit involvement, said he had earned about 20,000 euros, Kitz said.

Those responsible at the time allegedly offered players payment of overdue wages and a 2,000-euro bonus. Some players who did not want to take part reported the matter. According to the charges, the match against Austria Klagenfurt was manipulated, with the 33-year-old defendant involved as a player. A second match, against SC Weiz, was allegedly only an attempted fix.

Investigators had earlier suspected several manipulated matches and damage worth millions of euros. The possibility of transferring the case to the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had also been considered.