Georgia’s football federation said yesterday it had eradicated a large-scale match-fixing problem after banning five players for taking bribes to influence the results of games.

The players – from the WIT Georgia, Samtredia and Baia Zugdidi clubs – were banned for life after allegedly fixing domestic championship matches in the ex-Soviet state in return for pay-offs from bookmakers.

“These footballers will never be able to play again, either in Georgia or abroad,” football federation spokesman Lasha Dvalishvili told reporters, yesterday.

A statement from the federation said that the scale of the problem was “unprecedented in Georgian football”.

Police released surveillance video earlier this month allegedly incriminating the players.

The bribes allegedly paid out for fixing three games in April ranged from €4,900 to €8,300, the ministry said.

The investigation is continuing and no formal charges have yet been made.

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