Danish referees have been in the spotlight lately for their refusal to accept bribes in international handball events. Neither a one-off nor the work of a single nation desperate for victory, Danish refs claim that both Croatia and Romania have tried to bribe them to influence the outcome of handball matches.

Politiken reports that in June 2008 two Danish referees were offered 224,000 kroner each to help Romania win a World Championship handball qualifier against Montenegro. They reported the incident to both the Danish and European handball federations, both of which ignored their claims of bribery as unimportant.

In an even more surprising incident, two Danish referees claim they were offered prostitutes prior to officiating during the 2009 World Championships in Croatia. The Croatian Handball Association vehemently denies the claim, which has come on the heels of an investigation into match fixing in the final, which Croatia lost to France.

One of the referees in question told TV2 news: “All the officials were invited out to a very upscale restaurant one evening after a match. It was a closed arrangement which was organised by the host nation. And so we were rather surprised when a number of scantily-clad women came bustling into the room.”

Whether that constitutes indirect bribery remains unclear, but the Croatians find it interesting that the allegations were only brought to light after they filed a request to review the final match. No other referees at the private dinner have yet confirmed the Danish refs’ version of events.

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