Football

03/27/2006

Scandal Before the World Cup

Is German Soccer for Sale?

Last week's 4-1 victory over the USA gave German soccer only a brief respite after months of self-doubt, in-fighting and scandal. Its reputation is now once again under threat from accusations of match-fixing involving one of the country's top football clubs, Bayer Leverkusen.

The former manager of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Rainer Calmund, used to carry a lot of weight in German soccer.

Germany's image as World Cup host nation has been dealt another blow this week with allegations that a club in its top soccer league may have been involved in match-fixing.

State prosecutors in Cologne said they were investigating whether the former manager of Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen, ebullient heavyweight Rainer Calmund, paid cash to bribe soccer players to help his team avoid relegation in 2003. Calmund, who has denied the allegations, was questioned by prosecutors on Monday about cash payments totalling €580,000 which he says were used to hire new players.

German football has been beset by revelations of match-fixing scandals in lower soccer leagues over the last year, but so far its premier division -- which comprises the best clubs such as Bayern Munich -- has been spared.

If the accusations prove true, the scandal would be disastrous for the reputation of German soccer, already hit by internal quarrelling among football officials and fears that the national team may embarrass itself on the world stage this summer. A 4-1 home victory over a relatively inexperienced B-team fielded by the USA last week has offered little solace after a recent spate of defeats.

Cologne public prosecutor Günther Feld said in a statement on Sunday: "We have serious indications that the €580,000 wasn't used for options on player purchases as Herr Calmund stated, but to bribe players."

Bride to avoid relegation?

The investigation was triggered by a 12-page statement sent to the public prosecutor's office by a lawyer of the club on March 9. The statement, seen by DER SPIEGEL, states that Calmund indicated that match-fixing had taken place in a crucial game against club 1860 Munich (the local rival of Bayern Munich) at the end of the 2002/2003 season.

Calmund had been summoned to a meeting in May 2004 with the head of the legal and accounts departments of the club's sponsor, pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, to explain the whereabouts of three checks totalling €580,000.

At that meeting, according to the lawyer's statement, Calmund said that a former soccer pro and player advisor Volker Graul had approached him and said "he could do something" for the club, which was threatened with relegation and needed two wins from its last two matches of the season to stay in the topflight three years ago. The ex-player had demanded €580,000, of which he said he would pay €500,000 to three players of 1860 Munich to influence the match and keep the remaining €80,000.

After Leverkusen won the match 3-0, supposedly Calmund ordered the payment. Calmund has said the money was spent on so-called options -- rights of first refusal to buy players from other clubs. But he has so far been unable to back that up with convincing paperwork.

SPIEGEL knows the identities of the three 1860 Munich players in question, but the club denies any knowledge of the affair. "We assume our players were neither manipulated nor did they receive money. Should there be any suspicion we will support a thorough investigation," said 1860 business manager Detlef Romeiko.

cro/der spiegel

Article...

For reasons of data protection and privacy, your IP address will only be stored if you are a registered user of Facebook and you are currently logged in to the service. For more detailed information, please click on the "i" symbol.

Post to other social networks: