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ALLSVENSKAN

Allsvenskan 2013: Åtvidaberg FF

With play in Sweden's top football league set to kick off at the weekend, contributor Nic Townsend offers the lowdown on each team and their chances of taking home the 2013 Allsvenskan title.

Published: 28 March 2013 16:16 CET

In brief: Another small-town club who have spent most of their history in the lower divisions – with the notable exception of a short period in the 1970s where they not only won the league twice, but knocked out Chelsea in the Cup Winner’s Cup. Since those days, they’ve fallen as low as the fourth tier, but have gradually clawed their way back to the top, and last season finished eighth.

Expectations in 2013: The club surprised many last season, and at one stage even looked like they could qualify for Europe. However after selling striker Magnus Eriksson (Gent, now at Malmö FF), they gradually descended down the table – a trend that could continue in 2013.

Players to watch: Striker Viktor Prodell was a surprisingly prolific goal scorer last season and even earned a call up to the national team. Veteran Kristian Bergström will also remain a key player but at 39, it’s questionable how much he has left in him.

Click here to return to the Allsvenksan 2013 preview article

Nic Townsend

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FOOTBALL

Boy who attacked goalkeeper ‘bet thousands’ on game

A 17-year-old boy who stormed the pitch and attacked a goalkeeper in Sweden’s top division earlier this month has claimed he had placed a large bet on the result.

Published: 24 August 2016 15:16 CEST
Boy who attacked goalkeeper 'bet thousands' on game
Photo: Mikael Fritzon/TT

The match between Jönköpings Södra and Östersund was approaching full-time when a masked black-clad supporter burst onto the pitch and assaulted Östersund keeper Aly Keita.

Keita was chased and struck before players and security officials intervened and arrested the attacker.

The keeper was seen clutching his head as he returned to the changing rooms where he was tended to by medics, with the referee stopping the game which had been heading towards a 1-1 draw.

When questioned by the police the boy said he had no connection to either of the teams and had acted out of desperation when it became apparent that he was going to lose money on his bet, local news site Jmini reports. 

He also told police that he had left a bomb in his bag at the stadium, though that proved to be untrue. 

The 17-year-old attacker had made the 300-kilometre trip to Jönköping from his home town of Södertälje, in eastern Sweden.

The boy claims he bet between 5,000 and 10,000 kronor ($1,200) on the game, according to prosecutor Pernilla Törsleff.

“Whether or not the police or I, as a prosecutor, consider it credible is immaterial. It’s all about what we can show,” she told Jmini. 

The 17-year-old suspect has close family ties to the notorious Södertälje mafia, according to a TV4 report. 

Sweden’s state-run gambling operator Svenska Spel launched an investigation into suspected match-fixing after the game was abandoned, but said it had not seen any unusual betting patterns. 

Legal experts and football fans have however speculated that exceptionally high bets would likely be placed overseas, for example with Asian gambling syndicates, to avoid detection by Swedish authorities.

Prosecutors do not have any other suspects in the case and expect to complete the preliminary investigation in two to three weeks.