FOOTBALLER Michael Boateng and two Far Eastern businessmen were jailed yesterday for plotting to fix the results of lower league matches.

The 22-year-old was sent down alongside Singaporean Chann Sankaran and Sri Lankan Krishna Ganeshan following a four-week trial in Birmingham Crown Court.

The two businessmen were labelled the “controlling minds” behind the bid matches in League Two and Conference South as they received five-year sentences.

And Boateng, a former defender at Conference South’s Whitehawk FC, got 16 months in jail for his part in the scheme.

Judge Melbourne Inman QC said: “Professional football and sport play an important part in national life and individuals’ lives in this country.

“Those who make determined attempts to destroy its integrity for personal gain must expect significant prison sentences so when such acts are discovered a clear signal is sent to others.”

Sankaran was told he would be “liable to deportation” at the home secretary’s discretion after his jail term was up.

The co-conspirators had denied trying to throw the results of football matches in order to make money from bets placed on the outcomes.

The pair targeted the lower leagues as the more modestly paid players were more open to bribery.