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Soccer match-fixing trial begins in Germany

06 October 2010 22:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Four men went on trial in Germany Wednesday in connection with a huge soccer match-fixing scandal that may have affected about 270 games across Europe and Asia, German court officials said, APA reports quoting CNN.
The men, aged between 32 and 55, are accused of fixing the results of soccer matches by bribing or otherwise influencing players and referees, then betting on the games, German court officials said.
Players’ and referees’ bribes were 1.5 million euros (about $2 million) and bets went into the millions, prosecutors said.
"A group of persons appear to have decided to put pressure on players and referees in order to influence the outcome of football games," the state court in Bochum, Germany, said Wednesday.
"In the knowledge of this manipulation they then placed bets in Germany, Austria, England or Asia. Even if these attempts at manipulation weren’t successful, the actual placing of the bets may be criminally punishable," said the court where the men are being tried.
The court identified them only as G, from Lohne; A, from Moenchengladbach; S, from Schweinfurt; and R from Lippstadt, all in Germany.
German prosecutors investigated hundreds of matches played across Europe and Asia in 2009 and 2010, they announced in July.
They were investigating more than 250 people in connection with bets placed on matches with bookmakers across Europe.
Police in the northwestern German town of Bochum said that more than 50 raids had taken place in Switzerland, Germany and Britain targeting an international gang that allegedly fixed matches to win money on betting. Seventeen people were arrested over the summer -- 15 in Germany and two in Switzerland.
Wednesday’s trials are the first ones connected to the raids.
The games under suspicion are mostly lower-league games across nine countries, and not in the major leagues in England, Spain or Italy, authorities said.
But 12 Europa League and three Champions League games are involved, they said.
A qualifying match for the European under-21 championship is also under suspicion, authorities said.
The leaders of the betting ring may have made more than $14 million, police said, and investigators seized $1.48 million in cash and other assets.
The investigation, which was carried out for more than a year by a special unit operating from Bochum, took place with the full knowledge of European football governing body UEFA, which had a representative, Peter Limacher, at the news conference.
"UEFA will be demanding the harshest of sanctions before the competent courts for any individuals, clubs or officials who are implicated in this malpractice, be it under state or sports jurisdiction," UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
Police said more than 200 people are involved, with players, coaches, referees and other officials implicated.
UEFA President Michel Platini strengthened the organization’s betting fraud unit after he was elected in January 2007, and Infantino said the arrests showed that his actions had been justified.
"I would like to thank the German authorities for their action and for the good collaboration," he said.
"This case proves that it is possible for a state investigative authority to work closely together with a sports governing body when it comes to corruption or match-fixing."