The prosecutor proposed a detention for four of the 20 people accused by police on Friday in connection with influencing the results of football matches. When asked by ČTK, Lenka Bradáčová, the head of the Prague High Public Prosecutor’s Office, stated this today. She added that the remaining 15 of the 19 detainees had already been released by police.
“For four people, the prosecutor has filed a motion to take them into custody. If they are released, there is a reasonable fear that they could frustrate the investigation by possibly influencing previously unheard witnesses and continue the crime for which they are being prosecuted,” she said. Bradáčová. The court must decide on the motion for detention within 24 hours.
The case is being resolved by the Ústí nad Labem branch of the National Headquarters against organized crime. Twenty defendants are suspected of having participated in influencing the results of matches in lower football competitions through referees. Forensic scientists claim that this crime was controlled by an organized criminal group.
The High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague, which supervises the case, did not comment on the identity of any of the accused. According to media reports, among them is the vice-president of the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FACR) Roman Berbr. The association did not confirm this, it wants to publish the official reaction on Monday.
According to journalists, Roman Rogoz, the sports director of the second-league Vyšehrad, and the referee Petr Klupák and Michal Káník, who had been involved in another case of influencing the results, should be among the prosecuted.
The isport.cz server also mentioned the names of other judges today, namely Jiří Houdek, Miloš Vitner, Tomáš Grimm, Marek Janoch, Robert Hájek, Michal Myška, Zdeněk Koval, Jiří Kříž, Pavel Vlasjuk, Jan Cihlář and Jiří Musil. According to the server, the police also searched the house for a former official of Martin Svoboda, nicknamed Chřestýš.
On Friday, police officers intervened in several places in the country, including the FACR headquarters in Strahov, Prague. They prosecuted 13 people on suspicion of accepting a bribe, three for possible acceptance of a bribe in favor of an organized group, three for possible embezzlement and bribery in favor of the group, and one for embezzlement, bribery and acceptance of a bribe in favor of the group.
Defendants face up to four years in prison for accepting a bribe, up to two years for bribery, and up to five years behind bars for embezzlement. In the case of an offense committed in favor of an organized criminal group, the upper limit of the rate is then increased by a third and the penalty is imposed in the upper half of such a rate.
The media have long described the vice-president of FACR Berbra as a controversial person who, as a former referee, has a great influence on the judges.
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