Former Nigeria international, Dickson Etuhu, could face six years in jail if he is found guilty of match-fixing in a Swedish court on Thursday.
Etuhu played at the 2010 World Cup for the Super Eagles and had a lengthy career in England for Manchester City, Preston North End, Norwich, Sunderland, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers before moving to play in Sweden.
He is charged with trying to bribe a goalkeeper to fix the result of a league match between his former side, Stockholm’s AIK, and IFK Gothenburg.
The game was due to be played on May 18, 2017 but was postponed after goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos told AIK he had been approached by Etuhu and another man with a view to fixing the game.
Etuhu has said his former team-mate must have misunderstood the conversation.
“I respect everyone’s opinion, but the facts remain the same – it never happened … It’s unbelievable that an ordinary conversation with a friend can lead to something like this,” Etuhu told Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
The offence of gross bribery carries a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
Etuhu, 36, and his lawyer Johan Akermark both declined to comment ahead of the trial, being held at the Stockholm District Court.
The midfielder made 33 appearances for Nigeria between 2007 and 2011.
