It's official: Serbian referee goes to jail for match fixing, banned from football for 10 years!

Photo: MN Press

The Court of Appeals in Novi Sad confirmed the decision to ban former referee and observer Srdjan Obradovic from football over the next ten years for match fixing.

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Obradovic was put on trial for abusing his position as referee in the game between Spartak from Subotica and Radnicki from Niš (2-0), where he favored the home team and gave one of the most comical penalties ever seen in the history of Serbian football.

The referee from Jagodina was already sentenced in the first instance by the Higher Court in Novi Sad to 15 months in prison and a ban on performing any function in football for the next 10 years.

The Appellate Court in Novi Sad has now confirmed this verdict, so the case was closed on September 23, and he will only be able to get involved in football again in 2031.

Take another look at that penalty that he gave to Spartak - but that is only a part of the "thick file" against Srdjan Obradovic in Serbian football.

What is incredible is that, Obradovic, after awarding this scandalous penalty, and while the proceedings against him were still ongoing, returned to Serbian football - no more, no less, as an observer of refereeing!

The president at the time of the Judicial Organization of the Serbian football association, the FSS, Milan Karadzic, justified Obradovic's comeback with these words:

Milan Karadžić i sudija Srđan Obradović; Foto: MN Press

"We need a positive atmosphere, so that people understand that mistakes are an integral part of the game and of a match. Just as players and coaches make mistakes, so do referees. Let me tell you... There is a process being conducted against referee Obradovic before the courts, and the moment he is acquitted or convicted, then we will draw any conclusions. It would not be serious behavior to do that now. Let's allow the judiciary to make a decision, sometimes we rush for a reason, and sometimes for no reason. So let's let the judiciary finish that. Because it is not appropriate to condemn someone in advance and find them guilty.

The man has been in football for 20 years, well that is the reason. Does anyone have the right to correct their mistake? And if he has ever made a mistake, he has the right of redemption, which is logical. He didn't make that many mistakes, there's a bit of hyperbole here. He is an observer and if he does his job, he will continue to do so, if not, he will not work, and that is simply the case. If we get another decision in the meantime, we will act in accordance with that decision, and that is the only reasonable thing to do," Milan Karadzic told Telegraf at the time.

(Telegraf.rs)