Goran Šukalo

Goran Šukalo (born 24 August 1981) is a Slovenian football midfielder.

Goran Šukalo
Personal information
Date of birth (1981-08-24) 24 August 1981
Place of birth Koper, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1987–2000 Koper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Koper 42 (3)
2000 → Jadran Dekani (loan) 5 (3)
2002–2005 SpVgg Unterhaching 91 (10)
2005–2006 Alemannia Aachen 24 (2)
2006–2009 TuS Koblenz 67 (14)
2009–2010 FC Augsburg 2 (0)
2010–2013 MSV Duisburg 88 (15)
2013–2016 Greuther Fürth 54 (11)
2016–2017 1860 Munich 1 (0)
National team
2001–2002 Slovenia U21 7 (2)
2002–2011 Slovenia 34 (2)
2003 Slovenia B 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 February 2017

Club career

He moved to Greuther Fürth in June 2013 for free.[1] He moved to 1860 Munich on 1 February 2016.[2] His contract was mutually terminated on 3 February 2017.[3]

International career

He played 34 matches for the Slovenia national football team between 2002 and 2011.[4]

Controversies

In late April 2011, Požareport.si revealed that Maribor police department had been, for the past six months, investigating an illegal betting organization and six individuals, four of which (Kosta Turner, Vasja Turner, Ivan Vinko and Zvonko Hajšek)[5] were from the Maribor area and had already been taken into custody.[6] The police also revealed that two other collaborators were still at large and that one of those was Goran Šukalo (the other being former Serbian footballer Saša Simić), who allegedly invested over €1.9 million in the organization, in 2011, the majority of which he collected from other professional players.[6] Šukalo categorically denied his involvement in the matter,[7][8] however, it was revealed by the media and the police that investigators had been tapping the phones of the four persons in custody at the time and had recorded a conversation between Šukalo and the leader of the illegal organization [Kosta Turner] when Šukalo revealed that another football player, Nastja Čeh, was still owing him €73,000 and was avoiding payment.[9] Požareport.si published that the police did not have evidence that Šukalo was involved in match fixing, however, they did have the evidence that he was collecting and investing money in the organization because of which he could face between one and eight years in prison.[10] It was still unclear, though, if Šukalo was also being investigated by the German police who recently made a search of his house in Germany, where he was living.[10] In any case, it is strictly forbbiden by the UEFA, the Football Association of Slovenia and the German Football Association for any player to gamble, let alone to invest in illegal bookies.[10] On 11 May 2011, Šukalo had his first preliminary hearing in Maribor district court where he denied his implications and pleaded not guilty.[11] From the criminal charges, written on 49 pages, it was clear that Šukalo was betting with Kosta Turner frequently and that he had made a total of just under €1.7 million of bets in the illegal betting organization (€54,850 of which were placed on 28 March alone).[5]

In January 2012 the general prosecutor on the District Court in Maribor made an indictment of six individuals, written on 30 pages, one of them being Šukalo.[12] Šukalo was said to be the leader of the German part of the illegal betting organization from Maribor and that he was recruiting new members among other football players and friends from Germany.[13] The organization allegedly accepted a total of €43 million worth of bets in two years with €5.5 million coming from Šukalo, which he placed in his name for him and his customers.[13] Once again Šukalo publicly denied his implications and stated that he had nothing to do with the organization.[14]

On 18 April 2013, the District Court in Maribor announced its decision on the matter and Šukalo was acquitted of all charges.[15] Although Šukalo admitted gambling on football, he was found not guilty in participating in the illegal betting organization.[15] The prosecutor Bojana Podgorelec, which has demanded one year and eight months prison sentence for Šukalo, announced that the prosecution will appeal the court's decision.[15] Kosta Turner, Vasja Turner, Ivan Vinko pleaded guilty and received between three and two and a half years in prison, while Zvonko Hajšek was found guilty and received a sentence of two years in prison.[15] Šukalo's advocate, Franci Matoz, was pleased with the verdict, however, he did state how the Court and the Prosecution managed to "destroy his client's career".[15]

See also

References
  1. "Sukalo stößt zur Spielvereinigung" (in German). kicker.de. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. "Ein Neuer und zwei Abgänge" [One arrival and two departures] (in German). Greuther Fürth. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. "TSV 1860 München löst Vertrag mit Goran Sukalo auf" [Lions are dissolving contract with Goran Sukalo.] (in German). 1860 Munich. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  4. "Goran Šukalo – Nogometna zveza Slovenije". www.nzs.si (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  5. "Ilegalne stavnice, zaslišanje: Goran Šukalo danes na mariborskem sodišču" (in Slovenian). pozareport.si. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  6. "Stavničarska "mafija" v priporu". Večer (in Slovenian). 28 April 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  7. "Šukalo: Obtožbe so neresnične" (in Slovenian). Nogomania.com. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  8. "Vorwürfe gegen Sukalo: "Stehen zu 100 Prozent hinter Goran"" (in German). msv-duisburg.de. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  9. "Med imeni najbolj izstopa Šukalo" (in Slovenian). 24ur.com. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  10. "Odvetnik Matoz trdi, da je Šukalo nedolžen. Tudi Nemci mu za zdaj verjamejo" (in Slovenian). pozareport.si. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  11. "Šukalo pred sodniki le 15 minut" (in Slovenian). RTVSLO.si. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  12. "Obtožnica je pravnomočna" (in Slovenian). Nogomania. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  13. "Milijoni evrov slovenskih nogometašev v nezakoniti stavnici Kosta" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  14. "Šukalo: Pri vsem skupaj nimam nič zraven" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  15. Matej Rijavec (18 April 2013). "Šukalo oproščen obtožb o prirejanju nezakonitih športnih stav" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
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