European match-fixing probe: 270 games under suspicion

Jul 14, 2010, 11:25 GMT

Bochum, Germany - A match-fixing and betting scandal in European football is bigger than initially believed, with German prosecutors in charge of the probe speaking of around 270 matches on Wednesday.

The prosecution office in the city of Bochum said that 250 people are suspected to be involved in fixing schemes to allow big profits from bets on these games.

The authorities said that the rise comes after confessions from detained suspects, statements from witnesses and from seized documents.

Bochum prosecutors said that 74 games in Turkey are under suspicion, 53 in Germany and 35 in Switzerland. Other countries include Belgium, Croatia, Hungary, Austria and Slovenia.

The first suspects are to be charged in the near future, the prosecutors said, without releasing further details. Some 70 suspects are detained in Turkey alone, 22 in Croatia and eight in Germany.

Prosecutors said that betting rings have made a profit of at least 7.5 million euros from bets on probed games and that around 1.5 million euros were spent to bribe referees, players and others.

This figure is to rise considerably, though, because not all betting patterns have been thoroughly looked into yet.