Germany Tightens Reigns on Illegal Soccer Gambling
Before the World Cup, Germany instated fresh new stricter rules concerning gambling and scandals related to sports betting during the worlds largest sporting event.
The name Robert Hoyzer will always bear a stench as compared to Shoeless Joe Jacksons in America. If MLB was rocked by the Sox scandal in 1919, then German soccer was shocked by the Hoyzer scandal in late 2005. Robert Hoyzer did not wear colors of any specific team, he was a referee, and he wore the stripes of a referee, or in the case of a Bundesliga referee, yellow.
In a 2004 German Cup game, Bundesligas Hamburg SV played against the regional leagues Paderborn an equivalent to a MLB team playing a minor league team. HSV was leading 2 to nil in the first, but after a series of controversial calls, including the expulsion of SV player Emile Mpenza, gave Paderborn a 4 to 2 upset.
There were suspicions of the monumental upset and these suspicions were warranted when rumors began surfacing that Hoyzer, the referee had bet on the games he was involved in. So much like Pete Rose, Hoyzer vehemently denied the allegations, but eventually confessed.
With his career as an official officially over, Hoyzer worked with officials and a scandal every bit as monumental as the Black Sox scandal emerged.
Despite the fact that Hoyzer helped aid the investigation, he was still found guilty and received a prison sentence. Due to the scandal, German soccer had cause to initiate a series of new stricter reforms just in time for this years World Cup in Germany.
