Serbian Referee Given Jail Sentence For 'Corrupt' Penalty Award

Serbian referee Srbjan Obradovic has been handed a 15 month jail sentence and a 10 year ban from refereeing, after giving a penalty three years ago.

Obradovic was refereeing a game between Spartak Subotica and Radnicki Nis in the Serbian league in 2018, a game which could decide Europa League qualification.

The referee gave two penalties to Subotica during the game, both of which were converted for their 2-0 win, and sent off a Nis player.

Footage from the game shows that the second penalty, with just 13 minutes left of the game was awarded for no apparent reason.

There is no obvious foul play of any sort and none of the Spartak players even appeal for a penalty, but the ref blows up and points to the spot.

Now the referee has been punished, with the anti-corruption department of the Novi Sad Supreme Court finally coming down hard on the official.

As per Serbian news agency Tanjug, the referee will spend over a year in prison and has also been given a 10 year ban from any activity with the Serbian FA.

Obradovic claimed that he'd seen a handball in the box and was backed up by his assistant official, and that's why he'd given the spot kick.

Nis player Milan Pavkov, who now plays for Red Star Belgrade, was sent off during the game for two yellow cards, with the second coming mere minutes after the first.

The striker attended the trial and was also a key witness.

It's not the first time a referee has done something bizarre, although admittedly not quite this level, with Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron once fouling a player who accidentally bumped into him.

The unique referee got very annoyed during a game between Nantes and PSG and kicked out at Diego Carlos.

Despite being suspended for three months after the incident, Chapron managed to walk away with the Ligue 1 referee of the year award for the 2017/18 season.

Makes you wonder how bad the other refs were...