Spartak Moscow ace Emenike may face up to three years in jail

ISTANBUL

Barcelona's defender Javier Mascherano (R) vies with Spartak's forward Emmanuel Emenike in Moscow on November 20, 2012, during their UEFA Champions League group G football match. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER NEMENOV

An Istanbul prosecutor is seeking one to three years of jail time for Nigerian forward Emanuel Emenike, for alleged involvement in match-fixing during his time in Turkey.

Prosecutor Ufuk Ermertcan yesterday demanded the sentence for the Spartak Moscow player, who spent an ill-fated six week period at Fenerbahçe during the 2010-2011 Super League season.

According to the landmark match-fixing case indictment, it was alleged that Fenerbahçe officials had fixed that season’s match against Karabükspor, demanding that Karabükspor not name Emekine in its teams and that he be transferred to Fenerbahçe after the match.

After the match-fixing investigation became public on July 3, 2011, Emenike spent a number of nights at the police station, and demanded a transfer from the club soon after being released.

Several Fenerbahçe officials were found guilty of rigging when the judge gave his verdict in May.

However, Emenike’s case was separated from the main case because he did not attend the hearings.
 
The Nigerian player made his defense at the Çağlayan Courthouse in late August, when Spartak Moscow was drawn against Fenerbahçe in the Champions League preliminaries.

The Nigerian said he had not received any such offer, and that he did not receive any money from Fenerbahçe before the game in 2011.

Emenike, Karabükspor’s top goal-scorer at the time, was left out of the team’s game against Fenerbahçe, citing injury. Fenerbahçe, in a neck-and-neck race with Trabzonspor for the league title that season, won the game 1-0.

Emenike then said he had reports confirming he was unfit to face Fener, while the Karabük club doctor’s report said he could have played through injection.

“The doctor who oversaw me at the hospital said there was no way I could play,” Emenike said. “Then I contacted the Nigerian national football team coach, and he told me that playing with an injection could threaten my career.”