Was there manipulation?

Betting fraud in Germany? Suspicion in 17 matches

Two matches from the third division are apparently also under suspicion.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

According to German media reports, 17 German soccer matches are suspected of being manipulated. These include two matches from the third division and several games from the regional and top leagues. There are said to have been conspicuous wrong decisions and blunders. Information about the matches is said to have been sold on the darknet beforehand. 

As first reported by the "Hamburger Morgenpost", several matches are said to have been manipulated for the purpose of betting fraud in the past two years. The matches in question are from the third division as well as the regional and top leagues.

The exact matches under suspicion are not being disclosed due to the ongoing investigations. However, the German Football Association is aware of the investigations and is taking the suspicions "very seriously". 

Memories of the Hoyzer scandal
It is also not certain whether other matches could become the focus of the investigators. It is likely that attention was drawn to conspicuous wrong decisions by referees or unusual blunders by players. In addition, information on the matches in question, including expected match results, had been sold on the darknet. 

This is not the first time that Germany has had to deal with the issue of match-fixing. Last fall, the public prosecutor's office in Bochum opened an investigation into unusually high betting stakes on the regional league match between FSV Frankfurt and TSV Steinbach Haiger. However, the betting scandal surrounding former referee Robert Hoyzer in 2005 is particularly memorable.