There are suspicions of fixing the results of 17 football matches in Germany, press reports said on Friday.
According to the German newspaper Hamburg Morgenpost, the results of matches in the third, fourth and fifth divisions of the German league have been manipulated over the past two years for the purpose of fraud in betting operations.
The newspaper reported that the German Football Association is aware of these allegations, explaining that it takes the matter “very seriously.”
In some of the matches mentioned, there were allegations of clear errors by the referees and serious mistakes made by goalkeepers and defenders.
Information about the expected results of the 17 matches was published on the dark web, which may have allowed for huge profits from betting, while news reports revealed that the corresponding chat logs proved the criminal deals.
However, the German Football Association doubts that accurate results can be reached from the investigations into allegations of match-fixing in football.
The DFB said: “We are already in contact with the relevant authorities and our monitoring partner (Genesis Sports). In light of the ongoing investigations, the DFB cannot provide any further information.”
The exact matches involved have not been revealed, but police in the state of Saarland told the German Press Agency (dpa) on Friday that they were investigating allegations of match-fixing on behalf of the Saarbrücken public prosecutor’s office. No further details were provided.