German Football Federation (DFB) Asks For Suspensions Of Six Players Posted: Thursday Jul 7, 2005 10:59 AM FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The German soccer federation's disciplinary panel asked Thursday for suspensions of six players suspected of being involved in the match-fixing scandal. All players, one of whom has since retired to become an assistant coach, are members of third or lower division clubs. The six have been named by Ante S., one of three Croatian brothers suspected of running the betting ring that that sought out referees and players to fix games, the DFB said. Ante S., whose last name has not been released by authorities, has been cooperating with Berlin prosecutors investigating the country's worst soccer corruption case in more than 30 years. Berlin prosecutors are investigating 25 people, including four referees and 14 players, suspected of fixing at least 10 games, mostly in lower divisions. The scandal broke in January, when referee Robert Hoyzer admitted receiving money to fix games. He has been banned for life. Prosecutors have not charged anyone yet in the scandal.
UPDATED ARTICLE! German FA bans six players linked to betting scandal FRANKFURT, July 7 (Reuters) - Six German soccer players suspected of involvement in a match-fixing scandal surrounding disgraced former referee Robert Hoyzer were provisionally banned by the German Football Association on Thursday. The DFB said the six second and third division league players were banned on "suspicion of unsportsmanlike behavior" in the match-fixing scandal that rocked Germany earlier this year. The DFB has already banned Hoyzer for life after he admitted to fixing matches to support betting on the results, a scandal that badly tarnished Germany in the year before it hosts the 2006 World Cup finals. The latest ban on the six players was based on testimony from Ante S., the Croatian owner of a Berlin cafe who is accused of organised fraud in connection with the fixing of matches, the DFB said. Twenty-five people suspected of manipulating the results of at least 10 matches in 2004 are under investigation. The banned players are: Torsten Bittermann from second division side Dynamo Dresden; Steffen Karl, who previously played for third division team FC Chemnitz; Markus Ahlf, Ronny Kujat, Marco Eckstein and Ronny Thielemann from Sachsen Leipzig.
But I think that was just because they are from Berlin. Bundesliga players make far too much money to get involved into sth like that.