In mid-December, Italian police arrested 17 people in connection with a match-fixing and betting investigation.
According to police, this particular match-fixing initiative was based in Singapore and had contacts with criminal groups in Italy and Eastern Europe, including Slovenia. The news, however, was not reported in the Slovenian media until several days later.
Then, on 21 and 22 December, Delo and Primorske novice, a broadsheet and a regional newspaper, respectively, reported that two Slovenian citizens were suspects in the on-going inquiry. They are Admir Suljić, 30, a former player of Rudar and Nafta Lendava in Slovenia, and Dino Lalić, 37, a former youth national goalkeeper that played for eight teams in the Slovenian championship.
Both Mr. Suljić and Mr. Lalić were found guilty in the ‘Offside’ match-fixing probe in Croatia in 2010 and sentenced to one year in prison. ‘Offside’ spun off the extensive match-fixing probe conducted by investigators in Bochum in 2009.
In a sidebar story, Primorske novice followed up on a probe conducted by Slovenian police in April 2011. Then, four Slovenian citizens were indicted.
Primorske novice report that one of the players caught in the wiretapping is Goran Šukalo, 29, who is currently playing for Duisburg. Prosecutors have accused him of involvement in the match-fixing scheme, but Šukalo’s defenders dispute the accusation.
Slovenian police is analyzing a number of games played in the Slovenian championship between 2008 and 2010. Sufficient evidence of fixing has been found in two games, reports the regional newspaper.