By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – German referees are at the centre of a tax evasion investigation that threatens to heap embarrassment on a nation that prides itself on footballing ethics.
Seven years after a match rigging scandal involving infamous referee Robert Hoyzer (pictured) brought German football to its knees, the German Football Association (DFB) confirmed some of today’s officials are being probed.
“There are no accusations being made against the Deutscher Fußball-Bund,” said secretary general Wolfgang Niersbach in a statement on its website, “but we have given the authorities all possible cooperation.
“Tax declarations are the responsibility of each individual.”
The DFB said officers were sifting through documents, though there was no suggestion the referees concerned had indulged in any other misdemeanours than alleged tax avoidance.
“The reason for this action is that according to the tax officers some referees have in the past not correctly paid taxes for their revenues,” Niersbach was quoted as saying.
Earlier this year FIFA banned six referees for life after finding them guilty of match fixing in a friendly tournament where all the goals scored were from penalties.
Charges were brought against the officials, who were from Hungary and Bosnia, after two friendly matches in Turkey.
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