France 's biggest handball star Nikola Karabatic will stand trial for fraud over his suspected involvement in an illegal betting case . Karabatic , a multiple world and Olympic gold medalist , and his younger brother Luka were among a group of players banned by the French league two years ago for betting on the result of a match in which their Montpellier club , which had already secured the title , lost to a struggling team . Karabatic 's lawyer Michael Corbier told Sportsmail on Wednesday the trial will likely take place within months . French handball star Nikola Karabatic has been accused of match fixing along with 15 others . Former Montpellier ace competes for France in Handball World Cup match against Iceland in January . 'We would have preferred the charges to be thrown out , but we 'll aim for a not-guilty verdict , ' said Corbier . 'In theory he is facing five years in prison and a fine , but even a suspended sentence of just half an hour in jail would be too much . ' Karabatic , who was briefly detained when the case emerged , now plays for Barcelona in the Spanish league . Karabatic leaves the Montpellier 's courtroom after attending his appeal in October 2012 . Other former or current Montpellier players including Mladen Bojinovic , Samuel Honrubia , Dragan Gagic , Primoz Prost , Issam Tej and Mickael Robin will also be tried . Karabatic has denied placing bets on the match that Montpellier lost 31-28 to Cesson-Rennes . Betting authority Francaise de Jeux reported an unusually high increase in betting at halftime in the match , raising suspicions and triggering a police investigation . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
Sportsmail was among group of players banned after betting on a Montpellier club match two years ago . Former Olympic champion will plead not guilty at trial in next few months . France 's biggest handball star now plays for Barcelona in Spanish league .