Former Premier League coach accused of match fixing

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Published time: December 26, 2012 07:19
Edited time: December 26, 2012 11:19

The administration of Russian Premier League side Mordovia Saransk has accused former manager Fedor Scherbachenko of organizing fixed matches.

­The chairman of Morodvia’s board of trustees, Sergey Siushov, told Stolica S website that he’s aware of several cases of match fixing in which Scherbachenko was involved.

All of them took place back in the 2010 season when the Saransk side were competing in the First Division, currently renamed the National Football League.

“I still don’t understand why Mordovia gave the game with Volga Nizhny Novgorod away, losing with 3-0 score,” he said. “You can watch the video and see that my words are true. But frankly it’s not that hard to understand. The Volga side were battling for the spot in the Premier League and the situation in the table required them to gain points. I remember how our goalkeeper turned away from the ball and it got into the net. And then a strange error from our midfielder saw the visiting player going one-on-one with a keeper – a gift of which he calmly took full advantage.”

Siushov also informed that the same year the coach exchanged home wins with Khimki Moscow Region after Mordovia suffered several defeats in a row.

“I was shocked when I learned about this,” he added.

Scherbachenko, who has been in charge of Mordovia since 2009, was sacked this autumn due to the team’s poor performance.

The Saransk side have so far collected only two victories in their maiden Premier League season, sitting last on the table.

Neither Scherbachenko nor the Russian football authorities have so far commented on the allegations by Morodvia’s board of trustees head.