A Chinese betting gang are suspected of offering a professional football team in Germany 60,000 EUR for every match they fixed for them.
According to local newspaper ‘Bild am Sonntag’ two clubs in the fourth tier of the German football pyramid are under investigation by the public prosecutor’s offices in the country.
Chinese sports marketing company Star Movement Sports Promotion Ltd has allegedly made current leaders of the fourth-tier Regionalliga’s Northeast division Chemnitzer FC a dubious offer to influence the results of matches.
Two representatives from the company reportedly inquired at the club about the possibility of renting a luxury box at the club’s Gellertstrasse Stadium last November.
When employees of Chemnitzer FC told the representatives about the costs of renting the box and getting involved in the sponsorship of the club, the Chinese representatives are said to have come up with an unusual idea.
The Chinese reportedly demanded that Chemnitzer FC report “certain victories” – a euphemism for bribed matches – beforehand to them by telephone.
When implemented the club would then earn 60,000 EUR (52,651 GBP) in cash for each match won in addition to the cost of renting the box, according to reports.
Chemnitzer FC however immediately ended the negotiations and reported the offer to both the regional FA and to the public prosecutor’s office in Chemnitz.
The club refused to answer questions about the alleged match-fixing offer citing the pending investigations.
The Chinese marketing firm is also connected to an alleged match-fixing attempt during the Regionalliga match between SV Babelsberg against Germania Halberstadt in November last year which ended 3-1.
According to regional daily newspaper ‘Magdeburger Volksstimme’, Halberstadt manager Andreas Petersen allegedly tried to bribe some ex-players of the club who were then playing for Babelsberg.
Petersen however denied the rumours and said it was all “a joke”.
According to local media, Star Movement Sports Promotion Ltd is an official partner of Germania Halberstadt.
The firm has its main office in the city of Qingdao in the Chinese province of Shandong, but also has an office in the town of Wernigerode in Germany.
The company could not be reached for a comment about the match-fixing allegations.
The public prosecutor’s office in Neuruppin is investigating the alleged match-fixing around the Babelsberg-Halberstadt match.
The public prosecutor’s offices of Magdeburg and Berlin are also reportedly involved in the investigations.
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Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder,  Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
