Latvian side kicked out over betting, match-fixing

Latvia's soccer association has expelled premier league side Dinaburg from the top flight and banned its club president and trainer for life for betting on games and fixing results, the ruling body said on Monday.

The association said in a statement that the decision, the first of its kind in the Latvian premier league, was made after proofs of match-fixing and betting against the team based in the eastern town of Daugavpils.

"The idea was that they either lost the game or arranged a particular result," association spokesman Martins Hartmanis said, explaining how the betting had worked.

He said Dinaburg club president Oleg Gavrilov and trainer Tamaz Pertia were banned for life, while Dinaburg were expelled from this season's premier league.

Dinaburg had previously been disqualified in 2007 from the Baltic League pan-Baltic soccer tournament on similar charges.

Hartmanis said UEFA fully supported the Latvian league's decision.