GERMAN POLICE MAKE ARRESTS IN SOCCER CORRUPTION PROBE .
Wall Street Journal
Nov 19 2009
FRANKFURT — German authorities and police elsewhere have arrested
an undisclosed number of people suspected of fixing matches in major
European soccer leagues.
The arrests, in Germany and abroad, came as part of an investigation
into match-fixing supported by UEFA, according to a statement by the
prosecutor’s office in Bochum.
The probe has been under way since the beginning of the year and has
targeted an international gang suspected of wide-ranging match-fixing.
The gang is suspected of bribing players, coaches, referees and
officials in "high-ranking European leagues" to manipulate games in
order to make money on betting, the statement said Thursday.
It said raids were conducted in Germany and Europe on Thursday and
that a large number of arrests were made. No other details were given.
A news conference is scheduled for Friday in Bochum.
UEFA said it was aware of Thursday’s action, adding that it had been
"working closely with German authorities through its betting fraud
detection system for monitoring irregular betting patterns. "While the
investigation is ongoing UEFA does not wish to comment on a particular
case," it said.
The Berlin newspaper Morgenpost reported that games in the Turkish
top division were suspected of being manipulated and that the probe
by Bochum investigators targeted 100 people. The newspaper said five
people were arrested Thursday.
Quoting Berlin security sources, the newspaper said the gang apparently
operated from Germany and that its boss apparently lived in Berlin.
Spiegel TV reported that some of the suspected members of the gang
apparently also were convicted in the German match-fixing scandal
in 2005.
German referee Robert Hoyzer was convicted of fraud and sentenced to
29 months in prison after admitting he had manipulated games mostly
in German lower divisions on behalf of three Croatian brothers,
who made millions by betting on the games.
Ante Sapina was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 35 months in
prison for fixing or attempting to fix 23 games by paying Mr. Hoyzer
to rig matches Mr. Sapina and his brothers bet on. Mr. Ante Sapina’s
brothers Milan and Filip were given suspended sentences.
UEFA said two months ago that it was investigating 40 cases of
suspected match-fixing in the Champions League and UEFA Cup, mostly
involving eastern European clubs. The matches under investigation
were early qualifying games that took place over the last four seasons.
UEFA has beefed up its 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.
The detection system monitors all top two divisions across Europe and
domestic cup games. A Macedonian club, FK Pobeda, has been banned from
European competitions for eight years and club president Aleksandar
Zabrcanec and then-team captain Nikolce Zdraveski have received
lifetime bans.
The two allegedly ensured the team lost a Champions League qualifying
round match against Armenian club Pyunik in July 2004. They deny
the charges.
UEFA also reportedly has informed Russian officials that it suspects
several domestic league games to have been manipulated this season.
Russian daily newspaper Vremya Novostei last month cited a letter it
said UEFA sent to the Russian Football Union in September alleging
suspicious betting patterns on six matches.
The clubs involved allegedly include Krylya Sovietov, Terek Grozny,
Spartak Nalchik, Tom Tomsk and Amkar Perm from the Premier League,
and four clubs from the first division.