Four arrested in match-fixing scandal

Four people have been arrested in connection with German soccer's betting and match-fixing scandal, prosecutors said yesterday.

Michael Grunwald, a spokesman for state prosecutors in Berlin, said four premises had been searched on Friday evening and that four people had been arrested. He gave no further details.

Berlin prosecutors said this week that the German Football Associa-tion (DFB) had notified them of a suspected link between Robert Hoyzer, the 25-year-old referee at the centre of the scandal, and a Berlin bar frequented by Croatian gamblers.

Germany is hosting the 2006 World Cup and FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has urged the DFB to resolve the scandal as quickly as possible.

Hoyzer has told prosecutors in Berlin that other referees and players were involved in match-fixing, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a leading German daily newspaper, reported yesterday.

Hoyzer told authorities he was present when referees received payments and had heard about payments to players, the paper reported, without naming its source.

He also admitted receiving 50,000 euros ($65,190) for fixing three matches, the paper said.

Investigations are concentrating on a first-round Cup tie, two second division games and three others from the regional league but soccer chiefs have warned that the scandal could yet draw in other matches and players.

Germany was rocked by a corruption scandal in 1971, with sanctions imposed on 53 players, two coaches, six officials and clubs Arminia Bielefeld and Kickers Offenbach.