Match-fixing trial begins with links to Dutch football

The lawsuit against Dutchman Paul R., who is suspected of involvement in match fixing in football, appears in court in Bochum, Germany on Tuesday. 

The German Prosecutor sees R. as the financial hub of this match fixing case. His three co-defendants are two former players of Sankt Pauli football club that accepted bribes and an intermediary. "They are suspected of manipulating  four games of Sankt Pauli, which plays in the first division in Germany. The goal would have been to make money by betting on the games", said the press judge before the hearing.

According to NOS, R. said that he will make a statement in court his afternoon. His three co-defendants will not. The question now is whether R. will repeat the partial confession he made during police questioning and whether he will mention names of other people involved.

R. gave the police a partial confession. During the police questioning, R. named Serdar Gözübüyük, a top Netherlands referee, as also being involved in match fixing in the Netherlands. Gözübüyük denies this claim.

The KNVB will be present during the hearing in Bochum, hoping to hear new details about match fixing in the Netherlands.