Match-fixer Sapina has sentenced reduced

Ante Sapina was convicted to five and a half years in jail for match-fixing. (Martin Meissner/AP)

BOCHUM, Germany — A German court has sentenced convicted match-fixer Ante Sapina to five years in prison following a new trial, six months less than his previous sentence.

Sapina was sentenced in May 2011 to 5 1/2 years in prison but appealed. Germany’s top appeals court returned parts of the case to the Bochum court, which reduced the sentence because Sapina co-operated with authorities.

Co-defendant Marijo Cvrtak also had his sentence reduced by six months to five years.

Sapina and Cvrtak were among six men charged with manipulating matches across Europe and the two confessed to fixing more than 20 games.

Sapina had a prior conviction for involvement in a similar betting scandal in 2005 involving Bundesliga referee Robert Hoyzer.

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