French handball superstar Nikola Karabatic has been reinstated by his club side Montpellier, club president Remy Levy announced on Tuesday, following a betting scandal that has rocked the sport.
The 28-year-old Olympic and world champion was at the heart of match-fixing claims with his brother and team-mate, Luka, as well as other Montpellier players and two current Paris Saint-Germain players who used to play for the French champions.
"From tomorrow (Wednesday), Nikola Karabatic and Issam Tej (another player under investigation) will resume training," Levy told reporters.
Luka Karabatic has meanwhile been summoned to appear before a club disciplinary panel on November 8, the president added, warning that any players found guilty of match-fixing "do not deserve to wear the club's shirt".
Nikola Karabatic, who denies any wrong-doing, is also one of 11 people being formally investigated on suspicion of fraud.
Suspicions were raised over a match that Montpellier lost 31-28 to Cesson-Sevigne on May 12. At the time, Montpellier were assured of a 13th league title in 15 seasons while the Breton club sat in eighth position.
Large bets reportedly came in at half-time on a loss for Montpellier, for whom the Karabatic brothers, Mladen Bojinovic, Vid Kavticnik and Samuel Honrubia were not playing because of injury.
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