September 9 – Police in Germany have confirmed they are investigating potential match-fixing in 17 lower-league matches in connection with sports betting platforms.
Authorities in the western states of Hesse and Saarland said they were looking into “conspicuous” matches in their jurisdictions, while Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) confirming it was “involved in the process in its role as central coordinator.”
The investigations follow initial reporting by the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper according to which matches from Germany’s professional third division (3. Liga), semi-professional fourth tier (Regionalliga) and amateur fifth tier (Oberliga) may have been manipulated for gambling purposes since November 2022.
In the 17 games in question, authorities said they are looking into suspicious refereeing decisions and unusual behaviour from goalkeepers and defenders.
Discussions among the manipulators are said to have taken place digitally on the dark web, reportedly revealing that illegally accrued winnings were to be paid in crypto currencies such as Bitcoin.
The German FA said it had no concrete evidence but was in contact with the authorities as well as its own monitoring partner.
The new investigations have prompted comparisons to Germany’s infamous 2005 match-fixing scandal involving former referee Robert Hoyzer who was sentenced to two years and five months in jail for fixing games in the second division (Bundesliga 2), German Cup and Regionalliga.
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Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/09/09/german-police-open-match-fixing-probe-17-lower-league-matches/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-09-09 11:11:46
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