Spartak Moscow striker Emmanuel Emenike has been summoned to a Turkish court hearing next month to answer match-fixing charges, Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman said Tuesday.
The Nigerian striker is among 93 suspects implicated in one of the biggest fraud scandals ever to afflict Turkish football, and faces up to three years in prison if found guilty, Turkish media said.
The hearing at Istanbul's 16th High Criminal Court is March 26, Zaman reported.
Much of the case revolves around Emenike's former club, Fenerbahce, who were thrown out of this season's Champions League over the scandal. Fenerbahce chairman Aziz Yildirim is charged with rigging a dozen matches toward the end of last season.
Emenike, who has strenuously denied wrongdoing, was arrested while with Fenerbahce in July on suspicion of match fixing but released without charge.
He moved to Moscow in August for 10 million euros, not having made a single appearance for Fenerbahce and having been on their books for a total of two months.
Turkish media say Emenike is accused of refusing to play for Turkish league side Karabukspor in a May 8 match against Fenerbahce in return for a transfer to the Istanbul club, which materialized two weeks later.
Emenike countered that he was injured, and Karabukspor said they had a doctor's certificate to prove it.
Spartak Moscow president Leonid Fedun told RIA Novosti in December that the club considers Emenike to be innocent. The club has not been contacted about the case, coach Valery Karpin said Tuesday, according to a Spartak spokesman.
It would be possible for the Turkish authorities to extradite Emenike from Russia under the European Convention on Extradition, as he is not a Russian citizen.
Emenike has scored eight goals in 11 league appearances for Spartak and one goal in six games for Nigeria.
