Former Nigerian international Dickson Etuhu has been banned from all football activity for five years for match-fixing. The ex-Manchester City midfielder was found guilty of offering a goalkeeper around £180,000 to fix a match between IFK Gothenburg and AIK in May 2017. The Court of Appeal in Stockholm said it was clear that Etuhu and another player, Alban Jusifi, tried to influence the keeper.
The Swedish Football Association said in a statement it had banned Etuhu and Jusufi for “deliberately trying to persuade an Allsvenskan player to under-perform in one of their team’s matches. The Disciplinary Board has decided to suspend two people because they have deliberately tried to persuade a football player to underperform in one of the team’s matches. Through their actions, these people have violated the anti-match fixing regulations, and they are therefore suspended for five years. The ban includes training, competing or performing any assignments in any sports.”
Etuhu, who also played for Sunderland, Preston, Blackburn and Fulham, made 33 appearances for Nigeria between 2007 and 2011, including twice at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008 and 2010 as well as the World Cup in South Africa.