French Olympic champion Nikola Karabatic and his brother Luka were among seven handball players handed six-match bans this week for their involvement in an illegal betting scandal.

The French handball league said the Karabatic brothers, Olympic champion Samuel Honrubia, Mladen Bojinovic, Dragan Gajic, Primoz Prost and Issam Tej had been found guilty of having “directly or indirectly, placed bets on the result of the game”.

The players, all members of the Montpellier team at the time, have been under formal investigation since October on charges of fraud and match-fixing. They have denied any wrongdoing.

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