Serbia to Probe Red Star Match Fixing Claim

Serbian police and prosecutors are investigating claims that Sunday's match between Red Star and OFK Belgrade was fixed.

Red Star secured a 6:2 win against OFK Belgrade after being two goals behind at half-time.

The commissioner for the integrity of competition in the Football Association of Serbia, Milivoje Mirkov, said bets on the match results at bookmakers were suspiciously high. The Association's President, Tomislav Karadzic, said the organization is also going to investigate the game.

"The match between OFK Belgrade and Red Star has caused unusually great attention and it is certain that the competent authorities of the Football Association of Serbia? will investigate all the facts and circumstances," Karadzic said on July 21.

Mario Spasic, head of the anti-corruption organization Transparentnost, said they first contacted the police regarding the game - adding that he had received death threats afterwards as a result.

"We will not give up. We will contact state prosecutor's office if necessary. No one is stronger than the state. It is a time to stop the mafia in football," Spasic told the Belgrade daily Kurir.

Zvezdan Terzic, Red Star's managing director, said that Karadzic, who was president of rival club Partizan before assuming his current position in the football association, launched the allegations in order to stop the Red Star from winning the Championship.

Terzic said that he would ask Interpol, UEFA and FIFA to probe the match - if Karadzic agreed to these organizations investigating all suspicious events in the Serbian football championship in the last eight years, when Partizan won seven titles.

On the other hand, Milorad Vucelic, a Partizan official, called what had happened on Sunday "a...