Attempted Match-Fixing in the 3. Liga?
With a hearing scheduled on August 28, here's how a match-fixing scandal has rocked German football after VfL Osnabrück lost the Lower Saxony Pokal Final against fourth-tier side BW Lohne.
When you think of match-fixing, the first league or team you wouldn’t necessarily think of is Germany’s 3. Liga and VfL Osnabrück. However, several months after the last game of the last campaign, that’s the accusation that former VfL coaches Marco Antwerpen and Frank Döpper find themselves facing.
Last season was tough for Osnabrück - bottom at Christmas and facing almost certain relegation to the Regionalliga. However, under the leadership of head coach Marco Antwerpen and assistant Frank Döpper, the club confirmed safety before the final matchday and had also secured their place in the Lower Saxony Pokal final against underdogs BW Lohne.
Surely Antwerpen and Co. were going to set off into the sunset, right?
An Attempted Rigged Final?
Osnabrück would have been expected to win the final against the fourth-tier side, earn their place in the first round of the DFB Pokal, and benefit from the money that comes with it.
Considering that the game was played at the home of Osnabrück, Stadion an der Bremer Brücke, everything seemed to be in the host’s favour.
However, the underdogs claimed one of the big stories of Pokal final day by beating the third division side 2-4.
On the face of it, perhaps this doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Lohne played a good game, and Osnabrück were coming off the back of a tough and, at times, torturous season.
But this is where suspicions and the finger-pointing begin.
During the final, Lohne fielded an Osnabrück loanee, Bernd Reißelmann, and Theo Janotta, who was scheduled to join Osnabrück at the start of the following season.
Subsequently, both players scored for Lohne and secured the famous win.
Following the defeat, Marco Antwerpen and Frank Döpper were sacked, with reports of massive disturbances behind the scenes.
When this was announced, the club stated that the dismissal was due to “findings from the last few days.”
What transpired was that Antwerpen and Döpper supposedly tried to convince loanee Reißelmann not to participate in the final. According to local newspaper Oldenburgische Volkszeitung, the coaches attempted to put pressure on Reißelmann to fake an injury or illness, which would rule him out of the final.
What’s more, this type of emotional blackmail may not be a one-off tactic. As the local paper reported, Antwerpen and Döpper had caused conflicts with some players in the VfL squad, something that the club’s board was aware of.
Legal Action Begins
Whether it was Osnabrück, Reißelmann, or BW Lohne, someone raised the issue to the DFL Board. As a result, the association has scheduled a hearing for August 28th at the request of the DFB Control Committee.
Both coaches are accused of "unsportsmanlike conduct within the meaning of Section 33 of the DFB Training Regulations in conjunction with Sections 6a, 1, No. 4 of the Legal and Procedural Code" in the run-up to the Lower Saxony Final.
Within this regulation it states: "Anyone, particularly as a player, referee, coach, or official, who attempts to influence the course and/or outcome of a football match and/or the sporting competition through knowingly incorrect decisions or other unauthorized influence with the intention of gaining an advantage for themselves or another person is guilty of match manipulation."
In response to this whole saga and their sacking, both Antwerpen and Döpper have filed a wrongful termination suit with the district court.
Should both coaches be found guilty of wrongdoing, they could be fined up to €50k, suspended for up to two years, or even have their coaching licenses withdrawn.