French Football in shock following senior match fixing allegations

French football has been rocked by news of match fixing as six senior football club members have been charged in connection with a match fixing inquiry.

Caen Calvados FC Chief Executive Jean-Francois Fortin, Jean-Marc Conrad, the Managing Director of Nimes Olympique as well as Nimes’ main shareholder Serge Kasparian were all charged. The other three individuals were named by French news sources as businessman Michel Moulin, Franck Toutoundjian, the President of Amateur side AS Ararat Issy-les-Moulineaux and Caen’s security chief Kaddour Mokkedel.

The charges come just days after Ligue 1 FC Marseille President Vincent Labrune and club members were detained on suspicion of committing transfer fraud.

The club officials have been accused of fixing a series of matches, notably a 1-1 draw between Caen and Nimes on 13 May, which led to Nimes being promoted to Ligue 1 and Caen avoiding relegation to French football’s third division.

Magistrates have been trying to establish if pressure was exerted by Nimes on other Ligue 2 teams as the club battled against relegation. Recordings of telephone conversations between leading figures of several clubs form a key part of the evidence.

All six men have been released on bail on condition that they have no contact with one another.

French national newspapers have released transcripts of the telephone conversations between Jean-Francois Fortin and Jean-Marc Conrad relating to the investigated football match between Caen Calvados and Nimes Olympique