Bundesliga scandal (2005)

In early 2005, German football was overshadowed by the discovery of a €2 million match fixing scandal centered on second division referee Robert Hoyzer, who confessed to fixing and betting on matches in the 2nd Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal (German Cup), and the third division Regionalliga. The scandal has been described as the largest controversy in German football since the Bundesliga scandal of the early 1970s, as numerous players, coaches and officials have been accused of involvement with an organised crime group in the scheme, which came on the eve of Germany playing host to the 2006 World Cup.

Although it does not appear that any 1st Bundesliga games were involved, the matches in question do include a DFB Cup first-round contest between regional side Paderborn and Bundesliga heavyweights Hamburg played on 21 August 2004. Hamburg lost 2–4 as two highly questionable penalties were awarded to Paderborn and Hamburg footballer Émile Mpenza was sent off for protesting as the club was eliminated from the lucrative competition.

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 Berlin 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.

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