Nigeria International Midfielder Being Investigated Over Match-Fixing

Out-of-favour Nigeria international Dickson Etuhu is being investigated by the Swedish authorities over allegations that he attempted to influence the outcome of a match in Sweden.

Red flags were raised by AIK goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos when he claimed that he was offered a large sum of money, thought to be in the region of £180,000, by a former teammate to throw the game between Gothenburg and AIK in May.

And as a result the Swedish Football Federation had to postpone the match.

Etuhu has been interviewed by detectives working for a special unit set up in Sweden to investigate sports-related organised crime, and he could be charged in the next four weeks if he is found guilty.

''It was a mixture of money and concrete threats, special circumstances that convinced me we cannot not play this match,''  Swedish FA's secretary general Hakan Sjostrand told The Times.

"We needed to protect this goalkeeper - what would happen if he made a mistake."

Former Manchester City, Sunderland, Fulham and Blackburn midfielder Etuhu joined AIK in 2015 and ran out of contract with the Allsvenskan club in December 2016.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel