A former Finnish coach and his accomplice have been given suspended sentences for trying to fix matches and ordered to pay a total of €148,550 in compensation by a Finnish court.
Former Warkaus coach Pertti Nissinen and Ville-Veikko Lepisto were convicted of trying to bribe the coach of Finnish club Jaro and players of FC Honka and Rakuunat between 2003 and 2005. None of the players or staff accepted the bribes.
The court also said Nissinen decided not to use his best goalkeeper while coaching Warkaus in a third division match against Jyvaskyla JJK on June 6, 2004. He and Lepisto then bet on the outcome of the game, which JJK won 2-0.
“Trying to bribe a player in a match that is on (Veikkaus’s) betting list has a wide impact as it weakens the public’s trust in the honesty of sport events and betting,” the court said.
