2005 German football match-fixing scandal

Overview

Four referees – Lutz Michael Fröhlich, Olaf Blumenstein, Manuel Gräfe, and Felix Zwayer – went to officials of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB) with their suspicions about Hoyzer. Initially, the DFB did not immediately act, but after becoming aware of the accusations, Hoyzer stepped down from his role as a referee. Indications are that Hoyzer had regular meetings in Berlin with a group of three brothers who were part of a Croatian gambling syndicate connected to an organized crime group. After a confession from Hoyzer, several suspects were put under surveillance and on 28 January 2005 a number of people were arrested. Milan Šapina, operator of the Café King sports betting agency and his brother Philip were taken into custody, along with Hertha BSC players Alexander Madlung, Nando Rafael and Josip Šimunić. Madlung, Rafael, and Šimunić all played in Hertha's surprising 3–2 defeat to third-division side Eintracht Braunschweig in their 22 September 2004 German Cup match, with Madlung giving up a crucial 80th minute own goal, only four minutes after coming on as a substitute. The trio came under suspicion for having been known to associate with the Šapina brothers, but there has been no proof that they actually participated in the manipulation of this or any other match.

As witnesses against Hoyzer, the Berlin referees Lutz Michael Fröhlich and Manuel Gräfe were immediately relieved of their officiating responsibilities for their own safety, being replaced by Franz-Xaver Wack and Torsten Kinhöfer. The referees scheduled to officiate matches in the 19th round of Bundesliga play on 29 and 30 January 2005 were all changed the day before the games were played. Hoyzer co-operated with investigators in helping to uncover the details of the scheme, implicating other officials, players, and a group of Croatian-based gamblers. This led to an investigation by the league, as well as a criminal investigation. By the end of 2005, it appeared that the scandal did not directly involve the Bundesliga and was confined to lower divisions. The investigations lead to the following results:

• Hoyzer was banned for life from any role in football and received a 2-year-5-month prison sentence. Jail sentences for Hoyzer and five other defendants were confirmed in December 2006 after they had lost their final appeals in court.
• Referee Dominik Marks was banned for life and received a 1-year-6-month sentence for his involvement.
• The three Croatian brothers orchestrating the scheme received sentences ranging from 2-year-11-month in prison to 1 year – suspended.
• Referee Felix Zwayer was banned for 6 months for his involvement including allegedly accepting a €300 bribe from Hoyzer.
• Referee Torsten Koop received a three-month ban for not promptly reporting an approach from Hoyzer.
• Matches involving officials and players accused or convicted for their involvement in the scheme were subject to review by the league.
• Hamburger SV received compensation worth up to €2 million for its forced early exit from the DFB Cup and compensation for certain other teams affected was arranged.
• After review, replays were ordered for a number of lower division games, while other results were allowed to stand.
• A number of changes have been put in place or proposed to ensure closer oversight of referees and other game officials.
• Once the criminal issues involved have been resolved, it is expected that a number of civil suits will arise as some clubs and individuals seek compensation for harm suffered as a result of the scandal.

Response of the DFB

• 11 August 2004 VfL Wolfsburg Amateure – Fortuna Düsseldorf 1–1 :This Regionalliga Nord match was refereed by Hoyzer. There was no determination of manipulation. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

• 13 August 2004 Hertha BSC Amateure – Arminia Bielefeld Amateure 2–1 :This Regionalliga Nord match was refereed by Dominik Marks. Hoyzer testified that Marks received payment to attempt to manipulate the outcome. The contest was replayed near the end of the season on 12 April 2005 with Berlin repeating their victory, this time by a score of 6:0. No other compensation was ordered.

• 14 August 2004 FC St. Pauli – VfL Osnabrück 2–3 :This Regionalliga Nord match was refereed by Hoyzer. There was no determination of manipulation. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

• 21 August 2004 SC Paderborn 07 – Hamburger SV 4–2 :This opening round German Cup match was refereed by Hoyzer who admitted to attempting to influence the outcome of the game by awarding a number of unjustified penalties against Hamburg. HSV striker Emile Mpenza was sent off for protesting calls. The obviously questionable nature of the calls in this match caused a number of Hoyzer's fellow officials to complain to the German Football Association which led to the opening of the investigations that revealed the scandal.

:By the time the fix was revealed several more Cup rounds had been played and Paderborn had been eliminated. The match was not to be replayed and Mpenza's red card was rescinded. HSV was awarded €500,000 in compensation and was also to be awarded a Germany international match at the club's home ground which could generate an additional €1.5 million in revenue.

• 27 August 2004 Rot-Weiss Essen – FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt 0–0 :This 2. Bundesliga match was refereed by Hoyzer. There was no determination of manipulation. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

• 21 September 2004 1. FC Nürnberg – LR Ahlen 2–3 :This opening round German Cup match was refereed by Hoyzer. There was no determination of manipulation. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

• 26 September 2004 MSV Duisburg – SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1–0 :This 2. Bundesliga match was refereed by Hoyzer and a protest was filed by Fürth. It was determined that there was an attempt to manipulate the match, but that the attempt did not affect the outcome. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

• 22 October 2004 LR Ahlen – SV Wacker Burghausen 1–0 :This 2. Bundesliga match was refereed by Hoyzer who admitted to manipulating the match by awarding Ahlen a questionable penalty. The match was replayed near the end of the season on 27 April 2005 with Burghausen able to reverse the result with a 3–1 win. The outcome did not otherwise materially affect the standing of the two clubs in the league table. No other compensation was ordered.

• 6 November 2004 KFC Uerdingen 05 – VfL Osnabrück 1–4 :This Regionalliga Nord match was refereed by Hoyzer. There was no determination of manipulation. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

• 28 November 2004 SpVgg Unterhaching – 1. FC Saarbrücken 1–3 :This 2. Bundesliga match was refereed by Hoyzer who admitted to manipulating the game by awarding Unterhaching a questionable penalty. The penalty which could have tied the match at 2–2 was missed. The attempt to manipulate the game did not affect its outcome and the result was left to stand. No other compensation was ordered.

• 3 December 2004 Karlsruher SC – MSV Duisburg 0–3 :This 2. Bundesliga was refereed by Dominik Marks. Hoyzer testified that Marks received payment to attempt to manipulate the outcome. KSC filed a protest over the result. While it was determined that there was an attempt to manipulate the match, it was judged that the attempt did not affect the outcome. The match was not replayed and the result left to stand.

References