BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/07/2007

Goalie charged on suspicion of fixing Euro2004 qualifiers

MINSK (Reuters) - Former Belarus goalkeeper Valery Shantolosov has been charged with trying to fix two of his country's Euro 2004 qualifying matches, police said on Wednesday.

"We have issued an arrest warrant for Shantolosov and as soon as we find him, he will be put on trial," head investigator Gennady Kazakevich was quoted as saying by On Guard, the official newspaper of the city's police department, following a two-year investigation into the alleged match-fixing.

Shantolosov was charged with bribery and attempting to influence the outcome of two of Belarus' Euro 2004 qualifiers, against the Czech Republic and Moldova in September 2003.

Belarus lost 3-1 at home to the Czechs in Minsk on Sept. 6 and then travelled to Tiraspol in Moldova where they lost 2-1 four days later.

They finished bottom of their five-team group, winning just one of their eight qualifiying matches.

The Czechs won the group and qualified automatically for the finals that were staged in Portugal the following summer.

Shantolosov did not play in either of the two games he is charged with trying to fix after quitting the national team in 2002, but police alleged that he was part of an illegal Russian betting ring.

Shantolosov, who retired as a player in 2005, now works as goalkeeping coach for Russian second division side Sibir Novosibirsk.

The well-travelled 41-year-old, who had played for several top flight clubs in Belarus, Russia, Latvia and Kazakhstan, was not immediately available for comment.

He was voted the best goalkeeper in Belarus in both 2001 and 2002, played 24 times for his country and in 1992 he did not concede a goal from open play in 11 Russian league matches spanning 1,038 minutes.

Source:

http://in.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idINIndia-28655020070725

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