The Ukrainian ice-hockey federation (FHU) has issued a life ban to two players, after forensic analysis confirmed that receipts promising the return of US$30,000 if Ukraine didn’t lose to South Korea by at least two goals had been written by the players. Receipts written by Eduard Zakharchenko and Vladimir Varivoda were originally published by Ukrainian news site ‘Observer’, and were analysed by the Ukrainian Centre of Forensic Expertise. The match-fixing attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, as the 28 April match finished 1-1.

‘Expert reports indicate that these receipts were written by Eduard Zakharchenko and Vladimir Varivoda respectively’, read a FHU statement. ‘The actions by Eduard Zakharchenko and Vladimir Varivoda are signs of an offence defined by the IIHF [International Ice Hockey Federation] Code of Conduct; that is direct or indirect involvement in misconduct that could result in the manipulation of the Ukraine vs. South Korea match […] We do not consider whether the match was successfully fixed or not. The fact is that writing such receipts is in violation of the FHU and IIHF rules.’