The Estonian Football Association (EJK) filed a complaint over the incident after opening a disciplinary investigation.

The EJK has also banned three people connected with the club from football activities. A match between FC Tallinn and Maardu earlier this month was abandoned with around 12 minutes' regular time to go after Maardu conceded three goals in seven minutes, as well as giving away a penalty.

The EJK launched its disciplinary investigation a couple of weeks ago into possible breaches of its disciplinary regulations. The provisions cover breaches of integrity principles, direct or indirect involvement in betting, the pre-arrangement of the course or outcome of a match, and the obligation to report such activity.

"During the investigation, the EJK is cooperating with international football organizations, while Maardu Linnameeskond has also indicated its willingness to cooperate. Based on the material gathered, the EJK filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office," the association said on September 10, immediately after the match.

On the same day the EJK banned Deniss Kovtun, Artjom Volkov and Vladislav Tšurilkin from all football-related activities for the duration of the disciplinary investigation. The Disciplinary and Ethics Committee will review the sanction upon receipt of additional information or once the investigation has concluded.

On Friday, September 25, the prosecutor's office announced that criminal proceedings had been launched following the EJK's complaint.

"The complaint submitted by the Estonian Football Association has raised suspicions that the results of football matches may have been manipulated for financial gain," Northern District Prosecutor Siret Vaher-Torni said. "The validity of the circumstances presented to the prosecutor's office and the roles of those potentially involved will be established in the criminal proceedings that have been launched."

Maardu Linnameeskond announced on Tuesday, September 22, that it was suspending its participation in the league and had also halted training.

Founded in 1997, the club has played under its current name since 2016. In 2019, it was promoted to the Meistriliiga, the top flight for the first and, to date, only time in its history, but finished last and was relegated back to the Esiliiga.

The Esiliiga match between FC Tallinn and Maardu Linnameeskond on Thursday, September 10 was abandoned in the 78th minute over suspected betting fraud, after Maardu conceded three goals in seven minutes and gave away a penalty. The Estonian Football Association has banned three people connected with Maardu from football-related activities for the duration of a disciplinary investigation, with the club suspected of pre-arranging the match and breaching integrity rules. Two matches in Estonian football have previously been called off over betting suspicions — one in the top division in 2013 and another in the Esiliiga in 2016 .

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