Three days after leading France to a sixth world handball championship team captain Nikola Karabatic and brother Luka were given two-month suspended sentences for their key role in a betting scandal. The brothers were feted as national heroes on Sunday after France beat Norway for the world title in Paris, but on Wednesday the pair were handed the stiffer penalties on appeal in Montpellier, where they played in 2012, having previously only been fined.
Bets totalling 100,000 euros were placed that Montpellier would be losing at half-time of a match played May 12, 2012, a substantial part of the sum being placed by Luka's girlfriend Jennifer Priez. Montpellier, who indeed were losing at half-time and were eventually beaten, had already won the French championships and their opponents were fighting relegation.