WARSAW, Poland – Polish police have detained former national team coach Janusz Wojcik in connection with an ongoing football corruption investigation.
Police took Wojcik into custody at his Warsaw home on Wednesday morning, national police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said.
Wojcik's detainment was the latest blow to football in Poland, and comes two weeks after a hard-nosed spat between the government and football federation threatened to cost Poland its right to co-host the 2012 European Championship with Ukraine.
Wojcik coached the Polish team that won a silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and later headed the senior national squad from 1997-1999. He was also a member of Poland's parliament from 2005 to 2007.
Wojcik was expected to be taken to Wroclaw later Wednesday for further questioning.
The Wroclaw prosecutors office, which launched an investigation into match-fixing in Polish football in 2005, said it planned to charge Wojcik either later Wednesday or early Thursday. The office said Wojcik will face 11 charges but declined to give details.
Prosecutors also said police had detained a Polish Football Federation official responsible for observing and rating referees during domestic league matches. Authorities identified the man as Krzysztof P.
So far, Wroclaw prosecutors have charged more than 150 people – including members of the Polish Football Federation, coaches, referees, players and club officials – with fixing matches in the top domestic leagues.
In a separate investigation, Wroclaw prosecutors on Wednesday charged Zdzislaw Krecina, the secretary general of the Polish FA, with mismanagement tied to debt payments.
Krecina is running for president of the Polish FA and it was not immediately clear what impact the charges would have on his candidacy. FIFA and UEFA had threatened to suspend Poland if the government prevented the federation from holding independent elections to choose a new leader. However, an agreement was reached to ensure that elections overseen by FIFA and UEFA will take place Oct. 30.
