THE Dutch referee at the centre of a storm in Seville was once named in a MATCH FIXING probe.
The youngest referee ever to take charge of an Eredivisie match at the time, Serdar Gozubuyuk was subject of Tartan Army fan fury last night after ruling out a Scott McTominay goal for Scotland against Spain.
That's after he appeared to change his story on why the goal was disallowed – after originally signalling on the night for a 'foul' and awarding a direct free kick.
Back in 2015, Gozubuyuk was named by a suspect being questioned in an investigation into match fixing – before being cleared by the Dutch FA.
Dutch newspaper Volkskrant claimed it had received the file relating to the case against Dutch suspect known as ‘Paul R.’, who mentioned the referee during a January investigation regarding two 2009 Dutch second tier matches.
Investigators claimed Gozubuyuk did have contact with 'Paul R', possibly in the clubhouse of VV Young Boys – where 13 people were arrested in connection with illegal poker tournaments in October 2011.
Gozubuyuk denied all knowledge of 'Paul R' – with an investigation by the Dutch FA for playing late night poker with players clearing the whistler.
He told the paper at the time: "I’m shocked that my name is being mentioned in this context by someone I do not know, and that it is so easy for such a person to inflict damage to someone’s public image."
“This is someone I do not want to know. Judge me on my athletic performance, and they have confidence in me, so that’s the only think I am focusing on.
"To be clear I’ll say it once more: I am clean. It is precisely my role to ensure that the two teams play equally and in a sporting manner.
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"The better that I can do that, the better it is for the game and the public. That is my challenge as a sportsman and my only motive to be a referee."
The KNVB said: “For the KNVB there is no question of referee Serdar Gözübüyük’s integrity."
Gozubuyuk was previously branded "absolutely the worst referee in the world".
Former Hull City and Russia boss Leonid Slutsky made the claim after the whistler awarded a penalty to PSV late in a 3-3 draw with his Vitesse team.
He said: “In each game in Eredivisie I never think about the referee,” he yelled. “Absolutely top level, Champions League level.
“Maybe the problem is his attitude towards me – maybe he doesn’t like fat people or bald people. He is like a waiter.
"Yes, he must be around the game because he is the referee. It is the players who are the most important people here.
"He thinks he is the most important. Absolutely the worst referee in the world that I have seen in my life.”
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