The biggest fraud in European football history involves at least 200 games within the Champions League, Germany’s second division of the “Bundesliga” and eight other European leagues.

Mr. Peter Limacher, head of the European Football Union (UEFA) pointed out: “This is the biggest fraud scandal that has been seen in European football” and added “We are deeply concerned by the extent of agreed international match-fixing gangs.”

In Germany the Crown Prosecution Service in Bochum announced last Friday at a press conference that they question the credibility of the multimillion dollar sport. As many as four prosecutors and police investigators reported at the press conference of the latest findings, about the betting manipulation.

They acted with a mixture of oppression and satisfaction. On the one hand, the numbers are alarming: 200 games in half of Europe stand at present, under suspicion of manipulation. On the other hand, the investigators have demonstrated some success.

The recent findings show that in Germany three games of the third division, eighteen games of the regional leagues, five games of the first league, two under 19 matches and four games from the second division have been manipulated. So far the first Bundesliga is not affected.

Premier league matches in eight other European countries as well as twelve games of the Euro league “the Champions League” are also affected. Most Clubs play for millions of Euros in this particular league.

  
The police are investigating against 200 suspects, of which 15 people were arrested in Germany and 2 in Switzerland. More than 50 residential searches were carried out and more than one million Euros in cash and material assets were confiscated.

“But this is only the tip of the iceberg,” said the head of the investigation, Mr. Andreas Bachmann. Through manipulation in Asia and Europe manipulators have cashed in at least ten million Euros and it is assumed that both the number of suspects as well the number of affected matches is still increasing.

The football word reacts shocked to this scandal and will probably have an impact on the future of the betting world.