The former Nigeria international has been found guilty by an appeals court in Sweden, he could face 6 years in Swedish prison for match-fixing
Former Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Dickson Etuhu has been found guilty of attempted match-fixing in Sweden.
The Court of Appeals in Stockholm released a statement on Wednesday, revealing that ex-Nigeria international Etuhu – who ended his playing career in Sweden – and an unnamed former player tried to influence AIK goalkeeper Kyriakos Stamatopoulos to fix an Allsvenskan match in 2017.
Etuhu played for a number of English clubs, including North End, for whom he made 134 league appearances, and Blackburn – his final club before making the move to Sweden.
The 37-year-old escaped a jail sentence, but has been fined and been sentenced to serve probation – no further details have been made public.
The court said that “the content of what the men submitted to the player (Stamatopoulos) was so clear that it should be considered a criminal offer of bribe.”
Etuhu has said he will be appealing against the ruling at the Supreme Court.
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He had initially been acquitted by a court last year, but that decision was appealed by prosecutor Johan Lindmark, who spoke about the outcome with Swedish newspaper Expressen.
“It was with satisfaction that I received the verdict today,” Lindmark said.
“I had appealed on the grounds that I thought the court of law would change and was not surprised when I saw the verdict.”
Etuhu joined Preston from Manchester City back in 2002, and was part of the side that reached the Championship play-off final in 2005.