Hungarian Mastermind of Notorious Fixed Bulgaria Friendly Nabbed - Report

Latvia beat Bolivia 2-1 in a friendly in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya just before the Bulgaria-Estonia game. Photo by Getty Images

Zoltan Kenessey, a man said to stand behind the fixed Bulgaria-Estonia friendly in February, has reportedly been arrested by Hungarian police authorities.

Kenessey, a former professional football player, has allegedly persuaded the referee of the game to manipulate it, novsport.com reports. The game ended 2:2 with all goals suspiciously coming after penalty kicks.

Hungarian authorities have already arrested the referee, Kolos Lengel, together with several other individuals said to be involved in the case.

They have allegedly been involved in rigging five more international matches, in addition to the 2:2 draw.

UEFA conducted a probe, involving even Interpol, and failed to discover any "Bulgarian connection." UEFA and Interpol have concluded that those responsible for the scandal are two individuals from Singapore, organizers of the match.

They are identified as Antony Santia Radz, and his accomplice, Wilson Radz Perumal, and are accused of having played a key role in the plot and represented the shady company during meetings at the football headquarters of Estonia, Bulgaria, Bolivia and Latvia.

The game was organized by the Thailand-based agency "Footy Sport International", while Russian Sergey Protsenko acted as an intermediary despite not holding a license by a FIFA manager.

The Latvia-Bolivia friendly, played just before Bulgaria-Estonia on the same venue in Turkey, was organized by the same people. It finished 2:1 for Latvia, with all goals again scored from the spot.

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