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R/£ Cops nab match-fixing ringleaders
November 21, 2009 Edition 1
FRANKFURT: German prosecutors investigating match-fixing in football say 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland have been arrested and that about 200 games in Europe, including Champions League ties, are affected in what a Uefa official called the biggest match-fixing scandal in Europe.
Police said yesterday more than 50 raids had been conducted in Switzerland, Germany and Britain and that evidence, cash and valuables have been seized.
Authorities believe they have arrested the leaders of the gang suspected of manipulating games to make money on betting. No identities were released, although they said about 200 people are suspected of being involved.
Among the games believed to have been manipulated are three Champions League games and 12 Europa League games, all this year. Prosecutors did not specify whether those were qualifying games or group-round matches.
A qualifying match for the Under-21 European Championship is also under suspicion.
Games in nine European countries are believed to have been manipulated, although none in England, Spain, Italy or France.
The suspected games in Germany were played in the Second Division or lower. Other countries involved are Belgium, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia and Austria.
Media reports in Berlin said that two Croatian brothers convicted in Germany's match-fixing scandal in 2005 were among those arrested.
The betting syndicate leaders are suspected of bribing players, coaches, referees and other officials to fix games and the suspected leaders are believed to have made millions.
The investigation began in January and has been supported by Uefa, Europe's governing body of football.
Peter Limacher, Uefa's head of disciplinary services, said he believed it was the biggest match-fixing scandal to ever hit Europe.
Uefa have previously said they are looking into 40 suspected matches in the Champions League and Uefa Cup - the predecessor for the Europa League - from the last four seasons.
Uefa have beefed up their early warning system to protect against illegal betting and match-fixing, and president Michel Platini has described those issues as the greatest problem facing European football.
Limacher, speaking alongside German prosecutors and police officials at a nationally televised news conference in Bochum, said the arrests were proof that the detection system was working.
"We feel a certain satisfaction, but on the other hand, we are deeply affected by the scope of game manipulations by inter- national gangs," Limacher said.
The prosecutor's office in Bochum is Germany's leading authority on fighting corruption and fraud.
The Berliner Morgenpost reported on Thursday that Ante Sapina and his brother Milan were among five people arrested in Berlin.
Ante Sapina was convicted of fraud in 2005 and sentenced to 35 months in prison for fixing or attempting to fix 23 games by paying German referee Robert Hoyzer to rig matches Sapina and his brothers bet on. Ante Sapina's brothers Milan and Filip were given suspended sentences.
Hoyzer was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 29 months in prison after admitting he had manipulated games. - Sapa-AP
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