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Last week, the match-fixing scandal in Germany is still unfolding - new participants of this scandal are beginning to emerge, and some matches may have to be replayed. It is believed that the captain of the "Paderborn" team, Thijs Waterink, is likely involved in this scandal. Just yesterday, team manager Wilfried Finke claimed that a player is suspected of being involved with the Croatian mafia, but did not want to reveal his name. However, during today's press conference, Finke revealed the name of this player. Finke revealed that just before the German Cup match with the team, Waterink met with an unknown person and received 10,000 euros from him. After the match, he distributed 500 euros to each of his teammates. However, the player himself partially denies his guilt, stating that he was simply naive and took the money due to stress before the cup match. He did not tell his teammates about this, and later, the next day after the match, he distributed the money as bonuses for the victory. EuroFootball.com portal has already reported on this scandal. The newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" stated yesterday that a total of 3 referees and 8 players may be involved in this scandal. Werner Hackmann, the president of the German Football League (DFL), says that two matches may have to be replayed. Both of these matches are in lower country leagues. However, the replay of the controversial match between the Paderborn and Hamburg teams will not take place, as the cup matches have already reached the final eighth round. This decision is categorically opposed by Hamburg's general director Bernd Hoffmann. Well-known politicians have also been drawn into this scandal, the biggest in the last three decades. Former German President Richard von Weizsäcker said: "greed for money and unscrupulous capitalism has unfortunately taken deep roots in some sports." Weizsäcker, a staunch sports fanatic, hopes that similar incidents will not happen in the future and that the culprits of this scandal will be identified and revealed. Meanwhile, Bavarian Prime Minister Dr. Edmund Stoiber believes that athletes, coaches, and sports team members should be banned from betting in betting shops. According to Stoiber, any referee or player who violates this rule should be banned for life. Stoiber fears that this scandal will not harm Germany's image as the host of the World Cup next year.
