Bundesliga Match Fixing Scandal

German football was rocked to its very foundations at the beginning of 2005. Robert Hoyzer, a German Second Division football referee, admitted to fixing and betting on matches in the Second Division, Third Division and the German Cup. His trial exposed a 2 million Euro betting racket in Germany. This was particularly unsettling for the nation as they were preparing to host the 2006 World Cup. Hoyzer had refereed a cup match between Paderborn, a regional team, and Hamburg, a First Division outfit. Hamburg lost the match 4-2 as a result of two dubious penalties that had been awarded to Paderborn. The referee also sent off a Hamburg player for protesting, condemning the team to elimination from the lucrative competition. The German Football Association, the Deutscher Fussball-Bund, were alerted about Hoyzer by other referees.... [read full story]