German Police Crack Match Fixing Ring in Europe

German police have cracked a large network of international match fixing that have paid bribes to influence the outcome of football games in nine European countries. The prosecuting officials have identified and arrested seventeen individuals who they say fixed soccer matches in the leagues participating in games in Germany Switzerland and Turkey. The investigation identified as many as two hundred people believed to be involved in the scheme. The European soccer governing organization UEFA said that they were also looking into qualification matches for the Champions League and Europa League competitions. Peter Limacher from UEFA commented about the situation at a conference in Bochum, Germany saying, “We’re facing the biggest scandal in soccer,” adding, “We’re content this is cleared up now, but we’re also devastated by the extent of the manipulation.”

Friedhelm Althans of the Bochum Germany police said that evidence gathered from wiretaps and as many as fifty investigative intrusions conducted in Germany, Switzerland and the U.K. has uncovered that the suspects have been working together since early in the year and it is possible they have made as much as ten million euros, by defrauding betting companies. In a statement on the UEFA Web site, the governing organization said, “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,” In all, thirty-two matches, including two in the country’s second-highest league, may have been fixed.

Football matches in Turkey, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Bosnia and Slovenia are also being looked at for suspicious activity. A sixteen member task force was set up in London U.K. to monitor suspicious gambling patterns. This problem has been made even worse by the growth of online gambling and live betting on matches. UEFA has been attempting to get the online gambling industry to share the costs associated with monitoring the 29,000 matches per season in Europe.