Referee Scandal Rears its Ugly Head

A month after the German Soccer Association banned disgraced referee Robert Hoyzer for life, three other cases of alleged manipulation are threatening to roil German soccer once again.

The association's control committee on Tuesday accused referee Juergen Jansen and advisor Wieland Ziller of receiving cash payments to fix a Bundesliga match between FC Kaiserslautern and SC Freiburg on November 27, 2004, as well as a second division match between Dynamo Dresden and SpVgg Unterhaching six days earlier. Last Friday, referee Dominik Marks was charged with trying to fix a second division and regional match.

Key suspect names names

The source of the accusations is Ante S., one of the main witnesses and suspects in Hoyzer's (photo) case. During police questioning, Ante S. mentioned both Marks and Jansen's names and said they had been involved in fixing matches as well.

Marks, who like Jansen and Ziller, faces a life ban from soccer if found guilty, has vehemently denied the accusations. A DFB tribunal will decide on Marks' case.

On Wednesday night, lawyers for Jansen and Ziller on also denied the charges and lashed out at the media and DFB, saying their clients are "not being handled fairly."

"This is prejudice to the highest degree," said Cornelius Fetsch in the soccer magazine Kicker.

Wider investigation ongoing

Jansen said that he had never had contact to Ante S. and wil testify next week at the Berlin Prosecutor's Office. A tribunal will decide on his fate within a few months.

Berlin prosecutors said they are investigating 25 people, including Marks, Jansen, Hoyzer, referees as well as 14 players suspected of having manipulated at least 10 matches in 2004.