French police detain Montpellier handball players under probe into suspected match-fixing

PARIS - Police officials say authorities have detained several handball players after a match between French champion Montpellier and PSG as part of an investigation into suspected match-fixing.

The Sipa news agency reports the players were being held in custody.

Montpellier has been accused of match-fixing after French media reported several players — including members of France's Olympic-winning team — intentionally helped lose a match their relatives and associates had bet on. Montpellier was on track to win the national title when it lost to Cesson-Rennes 31-28 on May 12.

A team spokeswoman told The Associated Press that police spoke to some players after Sunday's match but declined to comment further.

The team includes Nikola Karabatic, a two-time Olympic champion with France who is considered one of the world's best players.

Shortly after Sunday's match had ended in a 38-24 win for PSG, the 28-year-old Karabatic was interviewed by Canal Plus television about the defeat but he walked away when asked to comment on the investigation, which reportedly also concerns his younger brother, Luka Karabatic.

TV images showed Nikola Karabatic, and several other players, being led away from the Stade Pierre de Coubertin stadium in Paris by plain-clothes officers and climbing into a car.

Reports last week said that eight Montpellier players in total are suspected of involvement, and that the bets in question totalled €5,000 for an overall gain of more than €200,000.

Montpellier president Remy Levy appeared to distance club management from the players targeted, saying in a statement last week that he "vigorously protests" the implication that the club itself may have been involved.