A soccer rigging scandal in Zimbabwe has deepened with the arrests of three managers of Harare-based Shooting Stars on charges they paid players of local rivals Dynamos to throw a game on which Shooting Stars's league status was riding.
Shooting Stars faced relegation - demotion from the Premier Soccer League to Division One - in the match in question, played on Sunday in Rufaro Stadium in the capital. Shooting Stars led Dynamos 3-0 when the game ended abruptly in the 61st minute of the regulation 90 minutes due to violence by disgruntled fans.
Former Premier League administrator Wellington Dangarembizi said in an interview with sports reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the scandal will hurt the league’s efforts to find sponsors for next season.