Second Referee Involved in Scandal

TheGeneral+ · Mar 4, 2005

washingtonpost.com

A second referee "no doubt" fixed a soccer game in the scandal that has rocked Germany a little more than a year before it hosts the World Cup, a sports court said yesterday.</NITF>

<NITF>
Referee Dominick Marks was handed $4,800 in his kitchen to fix the game between amateur clubs, the German Soccer Federation's sports court said.</NITF>

Until now, star witness and referee Robert Hoyzer, who admitted to fixing or attempting to fix seven matches, had only accused three other referees in his testimony to police.</NITF>

<NITF>The trio had strongly denied manipulating games to aid three Croatian brothers, whose betting scams are now suspected of extending beyond Germany to a European UEFA Cup game in Greece.</NITF>

<NITF>The German federation said the game in question was an Aug. 11 regional league contest between the amateur teams of Bundesliga clubs Hertha Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld.</NITF>

TheGeneral+ · Mar 25, 2005

sbs.com.au

Disgraced referee Robert Hoyzer has told German prosecutors that a gambling ring obtained secret lists of Champions League referees before they were published, a magazine reported on Thursday.

Hoyzer said he saw lists of UEFA's referee appointments about a week before the matches were held, according to Der Spiegel.

The report says Hoyzer, cooperating with prosecutors after admitting his involvement in Germany's worst betting scandal in three decades, expressed surprise when he saw the lists and asked his Croatian gambling associates how they were obtained.

"Good sources," he was told.

A UEFA spokesman in Nyon declined to comment on the details of the report but said referee appointments for Champions League matches and the latter rounds in the UEFA Cup are withheld until 48 hours before kick-off.

Der Spiegel said Hoyzer's claims would cause distress at UEFA because only 11 members of UEFA's referee commission, as well as referee manager Yvan Cornu, could know the names of the referees a week ahead of time.

Hoyzer, a second division referee, has admitted he took bribes worth 67,000 euros ($85,000) to rig matches for the Croatian gambling ring. Hoyzer, 25, faces fraud charges. He has also implicated other referees and second division players.

Concorde · Mar 25, 2005

The General said:
Disgraced referee Robert Hoyzer has told German prosecutors that a gambling ring obtained secret lists of Champions League referees before they were published, a magazine reported on Thursday.

Hoyzer said he saw lists of UEFA's referee appointments about a week before the matches were held, according to Der Spiegel.

The report says Hoyzer, cooperating with prosecutors after admitting his involvement in Germany's worst betting scandal in three decades, expressed surprise when he saw the lists and asked his Croatian gambling associates how they were obtained.

"Good sources," he was told.

A UEFA spokesman in Nyon declined to comment on the details of the report but said referee appointments for Champions League matches and the latter rounds in the UEFA Cup are withheld until 48 hours before kick-off.

Der Spiegel said Hoyzer's claims would cause distress at UEFA because only 11 members of UEFA's referee commission, as well as referee manager Yvan Cornu, could know the names of the referees a week ahead of time.

Hoyzer, a second division referee, has admitted he took bribes worth 67,000 euros ($85,000) to rig matches for the Croatian gambling ring. Hoyzer, 25, faces fraud charges. He has also implicated other referees and second division players.