2009 European football betting scandal

The football betting scandal in 2009 called manipulation of football matches for the purpose of betting fraud that were known in the context of international investigations under the supervision of the public prosecutor's office in Bochum in November 2009. The betting scandal was uncovered by investigations by means of a telecommunications surveillance in the area of organized crime.

Extent of the betting scandal

The football betting scandal in 2009 is seen as the biggest scandal in European football since football betting scandal of 2005 by the referee Robert Hoyzer and the Bundesliga scandal in the 1970/71 season, were involved as numerous players, coaches and officials on match shifts. Extent and effect as even greater than in the previous manipulations in football considered. Some newspapers call this betting scandal as " the biggest fraud scandal of all time" and Peter Limacher, head of the disciplinary division of UEFA, speaks of "the biggest fraud scandal that has ever existed in European football ."

According to information from the prosecutor's office in Bochum on 20 November 2009, at least 200 football games are following an investigation since the start of 2009 in nine European countries were manipulated, including 32 games in Germany. The scammers are said to have bribed players, coaches and officials to influence game outputs.

As suspects the two Croatian brothers Ante and Milan Sapina were arrested on 19 November 2009, the (provider: SBOBET with license in the Philippines ) by the fraud with the match-fixing in betting in Asia and Europe made ​​a total of around 10 million euros and already had to serve a prison sentence after the football betting scandal of 2005. Another 15 people were arrested in Germany. About 50 house searches were carried out in North Rhine -Westphalia, Baden- Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Schleswig Holstein, Switzerland, Austria and the UK. This cash and assets totaling more than one million euros were backed up. The evaluations of the evidence, as well as the further investigation of the prosecution, not yet completed.

The European football association UEFA has the Ukrainian referee Oleg Orijechow suspended in connection with the betting scandal, according to Spiegel Online, which is supposed to have had personal contact with a member of the betting mafia. He had been summoned by an investigation of the anti -corruption unit of UEFA for a personal interview in the association's headquarters in Nyon.

Affected games and suspects

Germany

In Germany had been manipulated by the 2nd Bundesliga up to the junior level at least 32 games. Here are four games of the Bundesliga 2, three games of the third league, 18 games in the regional leagues, five league games and two games from the U-19 range.

In September 2010, the public TV magazine reported fact as much as 13 second and five third league games, 20 games of the Regional, five games of the league as well as two games in the DFB Cup, five games in the U-19 range and occasional friendlies, the circumstances under suspicion of manipulation.

Also, a DFB referee to have been bribed with a Regional game in May 2009 by the alleged betting scam artists.

In the course of further investigations and the basketball player of the Brose Baskets in Bamberg, Ivan Pavic, and the Würzburg State League player Kristian Sprecakovic was arrested on 19 November 2009.

Four games of SSV Ulm 1846 in the final phase of the Regional Season 2008/ 09 are under suspicion of manipulation. On 27 November 2009, the club has the Croatian players Davor Kraljevic, Marijo Marinovic and Dinko Radojevic the notice of cancellation in connection with the betting scandal.

The football league club SC Verl has suspended midfielders Patrick Neumann and Tim Hagedorn from the match and training operation on November 24, 2009. The association received instructions to attempted manipulation of the games against Borussia Mönchengladbach II ( 4:3) and against 1 FC Köln II (0-1) in the 2008 /09 season. On November 28, 2009 Neumann confessed to the prosecutor's office in Bochum against the receipt of 500 euros and thus laid the first professional a confession in the betting scandal from. He denied continue to have carried out active manipulation.

The defender Marcel Schuon confirmed to the Staatswanwaltschaft Bochum, during his time at VfL Osnabrück manipulation of the second league game against FC Augsburg ( 0:3) to have planned on April 17, 2009. During the game he had but apart from this and also notified to the client after the match. The game ended however as desired with 0:3 and in return Schuon debts were canceled in five-digit level. Beginning of the 2009/10 season Schuon moved to third division side SV Sandhausen, where he was released end of November 2009 due to the specifications in the betting scandal from the club with immediate effect.

Austria

In Austria 11 games in the Bundesliga and First League are concerned.

According to the UEFA Austrian clubs are not specifically involved in the betting scandal. Only two Europa League qualifying matches of SK Rapid Wien ( Rapid 5:0 or 3:0) according to the press releases are suspected of manipulation against the KS Vllaznia Shkoder. Beginning of March 2011 were betting fraud allegations known around the Austrian Bundesliga Kapfenberg SV should have said players of the club, according to various media reports, conceding large sums of money to, among others, the games of the 2009/10 season against FC Red Bull Salzburg ( 0:4 ), the SK Rapid Wien ( 0:1) and FK Austria Wien (0-1) losing on purpose. So should a defender of Kapfenberg have received, among other 200,000 euros through a middleman.

Switzerland

In Switzerland 22 games of the Challenge League and six test matches are concerned. Attempts to manipulate games of the Super League, there should have been at least one, but the addressed player reported the attempted bribe the association. So far, two suspects were arrested.

Suspicion against games of FC Thun

The federal prosecutor's office accused players of FC Thun to have the game against Yverdon Sport FC on April 26, 2009 manipulated. The suspicion is that the FC Thun should lose the game with four goals difference, and the game ended 5:1 actually. The Thun striker Pape Omar Fayé was heard in the week before the Cup match against Winterthur (22 November 2009) by the police for suspicion and then suspended by the club. As a striker can fault of his game positionally barely five goals, more players involved are suspected, alleged to have together received more 10,000 euros.

Suspicion against games of FC Gossau

The FC Gossau suffered at the end of the 2008/09 season a remarkable series of defeats. The federal prosecutor's office accused players of FC Gossau concretely to have manipulated the games against FC Locarno on 24 May 2009 and against FC Servette Genève. The FC Gossau should lose the game against Locarno with at least four clear goals and the game ended 0:4 actually. The former goalkeeper of Gossau, Darko Damjanovic, should be questioned by the police, but is submerged. The Gossauer midfielder Mario Bigoni publicly stated that a game last season, " clean " was and he received an offer from a team-mate. Although would not have known that Bigoni accepted the offer, he was suspended by his club. Tens of thousands of Euros to be flowed to Gossau Also, just for the game against Locarno 20,000. On 26 October 2011, the police confirmed that Bigoni had been three days earlier found dead in Altenrhein in Rheineck.

Test Matches

The Bosnian NK Travnik graduated in the summer of 2009 a training camp in Switzerland and thereby test matches against clubs Neuchâtel Xamax (2:3), Servette FC Genève (1:3) and FC Sion (1:4). It has been known that a betting syndicate from Asia has contributed financially to the cost of the training camp. The President of FC Sion, Christian Constantin expressed publicly suspected that the Bosnians could win the FC Sion.

China

The Chinese police have taken into custody on 25 November 2009 as part of the international investigation into the betting scandal total of 16 people, including twelve club members and four senior football officials ( including former Association Vice President Yang Xu ).

Other States

UEFA has on 26 November 2009 named five other football clubs who are under suspicion of manipulation. The clubs are the two Albanian clubs KF Tirana and KS Vllaznia Shkoder, FC Dinaburg from Latvia, NK Inter block Ljubljana from Slovenia and Honvéd Budapest from Hungary. Overall, it had been manipulated to qualify for the Champions League or the Europa League game seven encounters. According to UEFA possibly to be involved in the betting scandal, three referees and an Official UEFA.

• 8 Games of the Premijer league in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 14 games of the 1st HNL in Croatia
• 7 Games of the Slovenska Nogometna League in Slovenia
• 29 Games of the Turkcell Süper Lig and other leagues in Turkey
• 13 Games of the Nemzeti National Championship in Hungary
• 17 Games of the KNVB -League in Belgium

• Stabaek IF - KF Tirana (4-0 on July 21, 2009)

• SK Rapid Wien - KS Vllaznia Shkoder (5-0 on July 16, 2009)
• Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv - FC Dinaburg (4-0 on July 16, 2009)
• KS Vllaznia Shkoder - SK Rapid Wien ( 0:3 on July 23, 2009)
• FC Dinaburg - Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv (0-1 on July 23, 2009)

• Fenerbahce Istanbul - Budapest Honvéd (5:1 30 July 2009 )
• NK Inter block Ljubljana - Metalurg Donetsk ( 0:3 on 6 August 2009 )

Betting scandal in Italy

Regardless of the investigation by the prosecutor's office in Bochum, another betting scandal became public in Italy on 23 November 2009. The President of the Italian football club Potenza Sports Club, Giuseppe Postiglione, and eight other officials (including Antonio Lopiano and Antonio De Angelis ) of third division club of Lega Pro Prima Divisione and Antonio Possidente, a member of the Mafia, were of the Carabinieri in the context of manipulation by football matches arrested. The ongoing for several months, investigations currently relate to a lot of series B in the 2007/ 08 season and seven games of the Lega Pro Prima Divisione in the 2008 /09 season.

Legal workup

The 13th Criminal Chamber of the Landgericht Bochum imposed on 14 April 2011 against the gambler A. Tuna and the betting shop operators Stevan R. for commercial and gang- fraud prison sentences of three years and eight months and three years and 11 months. Because fraud was betting shop operators Nürretin G. a prison sentence of three years. Tuna A. and G. Nürretin had already served 13 months of their sentence in custody. All three defendants had been in the course of the trial to have 32 games manipulated and bribed players.

In May 2011, Ante Sapina has been ordered by the Landgericht Bochum to five and a half years in prison. Marijo Cvrtak was also sentenced to five and a half years in prison and Dragan M. received a suspended sentence of one year and six months.