A former top local Croatian soccer official was sentenced to jail on Tuesday after a Zagreb court found him guilty of taking bribes to influence refereeing in first-division matches.

Zeljko Siric, a former referee and ex-vice-president of the Croatian soccer federation, was handed a four-year prison term for taking 30,000 euros ($41,000) in bribes.

The money was received in 2011 from a Hajduk Split official. In exchange Siric had promised to enable "correct refereeing" of the club's ­matches, meaning that only referees from a list suggested by Hajduk Split would oversee their matches.