Match-Fixing Soccer Scandal Expands

Players from SC Paderborn, a third division team at the center of referee Robert Hoyzer's match-rigging of a German Cup match, have been reported accepting a €10,000 ($13,300) victory bonus from an anonymous backer. According to club president Wilfried Finke, captain Thijs Waterink accepted the money from the unknown man shortly before Paderborn's victory over first division Hamburg SV. One day later, Waterink informed his teammates of the gift and gave each €500. The anonymous backer told Waterink that the cash was a small reward for a victory yet if the team lost the match the money should be returned. Finke said the gift in itself was not punishable but that all players in the match should be looked at more closely. Furthermore, Finke said if it were deemed necessary Paderborn would agree to replay the fixed match. Meanwhile, the scandal is taking on ever greater dimensions. According to a report in Munich's Süddeutsche Zeitung, players from second division clubs Dynamo Dresden and Chemnitzer FC are also under investigation for their potential roles in match-rigging.