The Special Court on Thursday acquitted five former footballers accused of match-fixing in Nepal’s international matches.

A three-member bench of Justices Baburam Regmi, Pramod Kumar Shrestha and Narayan Prasad Pokharel gave clean cheat to national team captain Sagar Thapa along with his deputy Sandeep Rai, second-choice goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa, former player turned coach Anjan KC and defender Bikash Singh Chhetri this afternoon. 

Police had arrested the footballers for their alleged involvement in fixing Nepal’s international matches on October 14.

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All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on October 15, 2015 had suspended national football team players and a coach arrested on the charge of ‘match fixing’.

ANFA then had said that it would not induct the accused four players and a coach in any football matches until the case against them concludes.

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The Supreme Court on November 10, 2015 had released the five national footballers, who face subversion charges for their alleged involvement in fixing various international matches, on bail.

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Earlier, the Office of Attorney General had registered a case at the Special Court seeking for life-imprisonment against the accused players under the Crime against State and Punishment Act, 1989.