Serbian referee in custody over fixing charge

BELGRADE: A Serbian referee arrested on suspicion of match-fixing was remanded in custody for 30 days by a court in Novi Sad on Wednesday.

Srdjan Obradovic was detained on Tuesday charged with favouring the home team in the Balkan country’s Super League fixture between Spartak and FC Radnicki on Saturday. Obradovic awarded Spartak a penalty for no obvious reason even though the home side were already leading.

Spartak eventually won 3-0 and look set to qualify for Europe next season following their victory. The tribunal remanded Obradovic into custody “to prevent the referee from influencing witnesses,” a court’s spokeswoman told AFP.