Football club executive arrested over bribery of referee in Second League
Lazar Darojković, a member of the Executive Board of NK Dugo Selo, has been suspected of offering money to a referee to save the club from relegation from the league.
Football official offered bribe to referee to save club from relegation
Police have completed a criminal investigation into 50-year-old Lazar Darojković, a member of the Executive Board of NK Dugo Selo from SuperSport Second Football League, who is suspected of attempting to bribe a referee, according to Index.hr citing police and the State Attorney's Office.
According to investigators' suspicions, on 22 May in Sesvetski Kraljevec, Darojković approached the referee of a match that was scheduled to be played the following day and asked him to conduct the match in a biased manner in favour of Dugo Selo, at the expense of the opposing club.
The background to the request was linked to the club's league situation: NK Dugo Selo still had two matches to play before the end of the season, and a victory in them could have secured the club's remaining in the league. The suspect allegedly also requested that the refereeing be such that certain players would not receive cautions that would rule them out of the final championship match.
In return, the suspect offered the referee an unspecified sum of money. The referee — who is also a police officer — rejected the offer and reported the case to the relevant authorities.
Such conduct would have breached the rules of the game and regulations of the Croatian Football Association, according to the criminal charges.
After questioning Darojković, the investigating judge did not propose the imposition of detention on remand as the accused had made a confession and there was no legal basis for detention. The suspect was handed over to the detention supervisor with a criminal charge filed.
Source: Index.hr