Match-fixing arrests made in Belgium, investigation launched in Germany

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Further incidents involving match-fixing have emerged in Belgium and German, with arrests made in Belgium and an investigation being launched into several lower-division German clubs.

In Belgium, police arrested three players from First Division club Sint Truiden during training and took them in for questioning as part of a large-scale investigation in match-fixing. “I can confirm that Cyril Ramond, Marco Nijs and Ilija Stolika were arrested by police this morning and are currently being questioned while their houses are being searched,” a spokeswoman for the Belgian federal prosecutor said. “This is the latest in the ongoing investigation and the judge in the case will decide following questioning whether any charges will be brought against the players.”

In February, a former coach of First Division club Lierse admitted he fixed two matches, claiming his family was being threatened. The coach and two former Lierse players were let go by their teams.

Belgian investigators said they intend to arrest a Beijing-based businessman in connection with the scandal and have asked Great Britain and Finland for permission to extend their enquires into those countries.

German officials also announced that they were investigating allegations of a match-fixing ring. German newspaper Bild reported that officials were looking into suspicious betting involving second- and third-division teams.

“The DFB has been investigating for several weeks. There was a very small suspicion of a criminal act,” Theo Zwanziger, the president of the German Football Federation (DFB), told ARD TV. “We decided that in the interests of a clear explanation we would work together with the investigators.”

Bild reported that investigators have arrested five men on charges of fixing five second-division games, along with an unspecified number of games in the third division. The newspaper said that betting was on number of goals scored and that large payments were offered to several players to influence the games’ outcomes. The report said most of the bets were placed outside of the country.

Last November, referee Robert Hoyzer was sentenced to two years and five months in prison for his role in fixing four matches in compliance with a Croatian-based betting ring. It was considered the worst betting scandal in 40 years for Germany.