A Croatian soccer player has been jailed for a year after being found guilty of deliberately throwing a match of his Hong Kong team last year.
Sasa Mus, 28, was sentenced at the city’s Eastern Court yesterday after being found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud on Friday.
The Happy Valley player joined forces with his team’s deputy manager Hinson Leung and its sponsor Michael Liao Siwei on Nov. 30 last year. Mus threw the game by playing badly on purpose after being given instructions at half time.
Despite being a goal up, Happy Valley saw its performance drop dramatically in the second half of the match, according to the SCMP, with the opposition, Royal Southern, winning 4-2 in the end.
Although there is no proof that Mus gained financially from the arrangement, Magistrate Lee Siu-ho poured scorn on the Croatian for harming the club’s reputation and ticket sales and for letting his family down. (Sounds like one of those “we’re not angry, we just disappointed” school telling offs.)
Mus was one of eight arrested in January by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. So far the only other charge is one of betting illegally on another Happy Valley game for deputy manager Leung, who got a HKD4,000 fine.
Former assistant coach Fan Weijun was cleared of incitement to commit conspiracy in September after the testimony of a goalkeeper witness was ruled inadmissible.
Photo: Jarrett Campbell via Flickr
