Football 'bribes' inquiry
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.PARIS - A soccer player for the northern French team of Valenciennes has been questioned on suspicion of accepting a bribe from the league champions, Marseille, last month, writes Julian Nundy.
Christophe Robert spent Thursday in detention in his home town of Perigueux for interrogation by police from Lille after 250,000 francs (pounds 29,500) were found during a search of his parents' home.
Jacques Glassmann, another Valenciennes player, said he and two other players including Robert had received a phone call from Jean-Jacques Eydelle, a player for Olympique Marseille (OM), on the eve of a match on 20 May. OM's chairman is a former government minister, Bernard Tapie.
Eydelle, Glassman said, passed the telephone to Jean-Pierre Bernes, the OM managing director, who offered the three players Fr200,000 each 'not to play too hard'. Other officials and players from Valenciennes at first denied Glassmann's version, but had later corroborated it to an examining magistrate, legal sources said.
Mr Bernes has since made a counter-charge, that a Valenciennes official had contacted him suggesting that they fix the match to end in a draw to prevent Valenciennes' relegation.
In the event, OM won 1-0 and Valenciennes ended the season relegated. The French national football league opened an investigation but agreed to suspend it while OM successfully played Milan for the European Cup the following week.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments