German authorities are investigating a possible match-fixing and betting fraud syndicate at work in the country’s lower soccer leagues. That’s after reporters at The Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper discovered message logs detailing information about fixed games apparently for sale on the dark web.
A match-fixing scandal could be brewing in German soccer, which has been largely free of corruption since the 2005 Robert Hoyzer affair. (Image: Scientific American)These messages concerned 17 games and purported to offer information on how they were to be manipulated. There was evidence that whoever was selling the information had succeeded in finding buyers, with transactions made in Bitcoin, according to The Morgenpost.
Police in the western states of Hesse and Saarland have confirmed that they are investigating suspicious matches played within their respective jurisdictions. Germany s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said it was involved as a central coordinator.
Bizarre GoalsThe Morgenpost didn t publish the messages or identify the games out of respect for the ongoing investigations. However, it reported that some included bizarre goals and controversial refereeing decisions. One game contained only own goals.
These games ranged from the third tier to regionalized fifth-tier competitions. Most of the games took place in the evenings during the week. Four teams are named several times, according to The Morgenpost.
A spokesperson for the German Football Association (DFB) said the organization hasn t seen concrete evidence of manipulated games, but is coordinating with authorities. The DFB is also monitoring the situation with its integrity partner, Genius Sports, the spokesperson said.
Low PayMatch-fixing is far more common within the lower leagues of sports because they are less well scrutinized, and the players are poorer, and so theoretically, more corruptible.
3. Liga, the third tier, is the lowest professional league in Germany, although its players are still well-remunerated. Less so are players in 4. Liga, which is semi-professional. The fifth regional tiers (Oberliga) are amateur leagues in which players aren t paid at all.
Betting on amateur games is illegal in Germany, although offshore websites have been known to offer markets on these games.
Last week, Oberliga Hamburg reported two incidents where data scouts were discovered at games illegally relaying live information to offshore betting platforms.
The Hoyzer ScandalGerman soccer’s last major match-fixing scandal occurred in 2005 when referee confessed to fixing and betting on games. Hoyzer, who mainly oversaw matches in Germany’s second tier, admitted he had accepted bribes from a gambling syndicate with links to organized crime.
The rogue ref was banned for life from having anything to do with the sport and was later sentenced to two years and five months in prison.
