Defendant describes how he bribed players in German match-fixing trial

[clevfan]

Defendant describes how he bribed players in German match-fixing trial
Canadian Press


Thursday, October 20, 2005

BERLIN (AP) - The man accused of masterminding German soccer's match-fixing scandal testified Thursday he paid players to throw games and told the court of his frustration over his failure to rig a game in Turkey.

Ante Sapina, his brothers Milan and Filip, former referees Robert Hoyzer and Dominik Marks, and former player Steffen Karl are charged with fraud in fixing or seeking to rig 23 games, mostly in lower German divisions. The biggest corruption scandal in German soccer in more than 30 years has embarrassed the country as it prepares to stage the 2006 World Cup.

On the second day of the trial, Ante Sapina described how he nurtured contacts with players by paying out unsolicited "motivation" bonuses.

In one case, Sapina said he paid Karl 10,000 euros ($14,025 Cdn) to intentionally play under his ability. Karl's team, Chemnitz, lost 1-0 to Dynamo Dresden in April 2004.

But Sapina said he failed to collect more than 600,000 euros ($841,615) in winnings because his bet was linked to Ankaragucu losing to Galatasaray in the Turkish league.

Two Ankara players were approached, but one was not picked for the game and the other refused to go along with the scheme.

"I was very frustrated that it didn't work out," Sapina said.

The prosecutors accuse Ante Sapina of running the betting syndicate from a cafe he owned in Berlin. He is the only defendant still in custody. His brothers have been released.

According to the 289-page charge sheet, the three Sapina brothers made at least two million euros ($2.8 million) by betting on fixed games.

Ante Sapina testified at the trial's opening Tuesday that the charges against him were "in most part accurate." He is charged with 42 counts of fraud.

Hoyzer, 26, admitted receiving 67,000 euros ($93,970) from the brothers to fix German league games.

After first denying match-fixing allegations, Hoyzer changed his story and admitted the charges in January. He also implicated others in the scandal. Hoyzer has been banned for life.

The defendants could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.