Though a Uefa probe had not been able to prove the results were corrupt, but admitted that Vukasin Poleksic had made an 'error' by failing to inform his club or the Hungarian police about being approached by the criminal gang.
Hungarian club Debrecen confirmed on Tuesday that their goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic was approached by match-fixers prior to the Champions League tie with Liverpool in 2009.
Debrecen, who lost the game 1-0, released a statement on their official website which confirmed that Poleksic had been asked by a criminal gang to fix two matches in that season's Champions League group stage. It added that the two matches in question were a 1-0 defeat at Anfield in September 2009, and the 4-3 loss to Fiorentina in Hungary a month later.
Debrecen's statement insisted Poleksic had declined to carry out the proposed fixes and that a Uefa investigation had not been able to prove the results were corrupt, but admitted the goalkeeper had made an "error" by failing to inform his club or Hungarian police about the approach.
Debrecen's comments came a day after Europol said that a Champions League game played in England was among 380 matches under suspicion of match-fixing.
Uefa issued Poleksic, a Montenegro international, with a two-year ban from football in 2010, but he has returned to action with Debrecen this season playing seven times.
In the statement Debrecen said: "In the view of the Uefa Disciplinary Committee, Vukasin Poleksic failed to comply with his duties when he did not report to Debrecen that before two Champions League matches unknown people tried to persuade him to influence the result. The investigation revealed that Poleksic rejected the requests.
"Furthermore, the probe found that the matches were not influenced by anything connected with the bribery. But the player committed an error by failing to inform the authorities immediately, therefore he was punished for not meeting the reporting requirement."
A Debrecen official told The Daily Telegraph they had not been contacted by Europol or Uefa about the game. "We read about it on the internet like everyone else," they said.
Suggestions that the Fiorentina match, in which Debrecen conceded four first-half goals at home, may have been suspicious first emerged during a trial in Germany which saw members of a Croatian match-fixing gang jailed after a court heard evidence that they corrupted more than 20 games, including the Debrecen-Fiorentina match.
German investigators believe that more than 300 games may have been targeted by the gang, and it is understood that the Liverpool-Debrecen tie is among those considered suspicious. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Liverpool, its players or officials, however, and the club said on Monday that they had not had any contact from Europol.
Evidence gathered by German police suggest the fixers wanted Polek-sic to ensure there were at least three goals in the match at Anfield, as part of a betting scam. It is alleged the criminals sent angry texts to each other as Liverpool failed to add to Dirk Kuyt's opening goal, which came when Poleksic parried Fernando Torres's shot into his path.
Steven Gerrard, the England captain who played for Liverpool that night, said yesterday that he had been advised he could not comment on the match or the allegations made against the Debrecen goalkeeper.
Europol's decision to claim an English game was fixed without providing any detail, or prior warning to the clubs and authorities, has caused annoyance at the Football Association and elsewhere. Europol appeared to wash its hands of the stir it has created, telling The Daily Telegraph yesterday that it had no further comment and that ongoing cases "are beyond Europol's responsibility".
The case has offered a wake-up call to those complacent about fixing and a reminder of the threat posed by sophisticated gangs. Rick Parry, the former Liverpool chief executive who chaired an inquiry into gambling and sport, said more needed to be done to ensure the British game is protected. His report recommended closer information sharing between sporting bodies, the police and government.
"There may have been a degree of complacency about the potential for corruption in English football. Clearly there is no suggestion that Liverpool were involved. One of the fundamental requirements is for closer co-operation between police, national governing bodies so there is proper sharing of intelligence.
"This is an international problem, and it will only be solved with the assistance of national governments and international agencies."
The Daily Telegraph
052145 GMT Feb13
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}