Emmanuel Emenike, the Nigerian footballer, has been acquitted in the match-fixing case in Turkey. The 16th Criminal Chamber in Istanbul ruled that the evidence against the Spartak Moscow attacker was not sufficient for conviction.
The public prosecutor had sought a sentence of one to three years in prison, accusing Emenike of feigning an injury in May 2011 to avoid playing in a championship match against Fenerbahçe while with his club Karabükspor (Turkish 1st division). Shortly after, Emenike signed a four-year contract with Fenerbahçe.
A total of 93 people were tried in the match-fixing scandal, with several convictions for fixing matches in the 1st and 2nd divisions during the 2010-2011 season. Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yildirim was sentenced to six years and three months in prison. However, justice has decided to clear Emmanuel Emenike of any wrongdoing in this case.
