‘I played in fixed game in Cyprus’, former Achna player says

Romanian player Alexandru Iacob, who played for Cypriot clubs Ethnikos Achnas and Pafos FC between 2015 and 2017, has said that he participated in a fixed game while playing in Cyprus.

Speaking to Romanian outlet Gazeta Sporturilor, Iacob specifically referenced a game for Ethnikos Achnas, in which he felt that the final result was ‘supposed to end in a draw’.

“I understood during the game that it was supposed to end in a draw. One of my team-mates, who had previously scored seven goals, of which five were from the penalty spot, missed his penalty during that game”, Iacob said.

“I immediately realised that something was off about the game. I asked to be taken off as a substitution, but all of the substitutions had already been made by the 50th minute of the second half”, Iacob explained.

“We were ahead by two goals until the 80th minute. The game was basically played until the opponent equalised. We conceded the second goal in the 10th minute of injury time. Our captain, who normally played in central midfield, played as a centre-back for the last 10 minutes. That was the game that made me decide that I did not want to continue playing in Cyprus”, Iacob added.

Gazeta Sporturilor’s interview with Iacob contains background work in which the outlet alludes to a specific game that matches with Iacob’s description of how it developed and what the final score ended up being.

The game in question was a match between Ethnikos Achnas and Nea Salamina which took place in the 2015-2016 season.

In that game, Ethnikos were winning 2-0 until the 84th minute with the home team’s second goal being scored in the 81st minute. From then onwards, Salamina scored twice, once in the 84th minute and then in the second minute of injury time.

Iacob left Ethnikos at the end of that season, although he did stay in Cyprus for one more year, joining Pafos FC before leaving for a return to his home country.