The Disciplinary Committee of the Polish Football Association (PZPN) has begun handing down punishments to players caught up in a recent betting scandal.
One of the players has received a five-year ban from all football-related activities.
The report from the Disciplinary Ombudsman of the Polish Football Association confirmed that this ban will start from 21 August 2025, when the player was placed under preventative measures while the case was ongoing.
The case concerns a match-fixing incident on 15 August last year between the football clubs Rekord Bielsko-Biała and Sokół Kleczew.
Although the player has not been named, he is one of five individuals who have been flagged for illegal betting.
Tomasz Kozłowski, PZPN Director of the Communication and Media Department, said: "Due to the GDPR, PZPN does not disclose the names of these players."
However, the committee has confirmed that the players being investigated are at the central level, meaning they are in teams from the second league to the Ekstraklasa.
A deeper inquiry into player betting behaviour was conducted after the initial investigation found that athletes had placed a combined total of 5,422 bets, often on their own games.
The potential consequences of these actions include a fine starting at PLN 1,000 ($271.40), licence suspension or cancellation, being removed from the list of judges or officials, a temporary ban on football-related activities or an outright exclusion from the PZPN.
The decision to ban the player can be appealed through the Supreme Appeal Committee of the PZPN.
Last year, Turkey suspended 1,024 players after they were exposed in a gambling probe.
A total of 69 bets are believed to have been made in cases of match-fixing in the Polish Football League
