Good to Know — Paderborn

SC Paderborn became sadly famous on 21 August 2004 against Hamburger SV.

SC Paderborn became sadly famous on 21 August

SC Paderborn became sadly famous on 21 August 2004 against Hamburger SV.

SC Paderborn became sadly famous on 21 August 2004 against Hamburger SV. In the cup tie in East Westphalia, then still played at the Hermann-Löns-Weg ground, referee Robert Hoyzer of Berlin deliberately engineered HSV’s exit. Paderborn won 4-2, Hoyzer awarded two highly controversial penalties and produced an even more controversial red card against Hamburg. That much is well known. What is less well known are a number of more specific details surrounding the scandal, involving SC Paderborn 07, other DFB referees, further Paderborn players and even professionals from Hertha BSC.

Robert Hoyzer had been on the DFB referee

Robert Hoyzer had been on the DFB referee list since the start of the 2002/03 season and by 21 August 2004 had overseen twelve Bundesliga 2 matches as well as fixtures in the DFB Cup and the Regionalliga.

Robert Hoyzer had been on the DFB referee list since the start of the 2002/03 season and by 21 August 2004 had overseen twelve Bundesliga 2 matches as well as fixtures in the DFB Cup and the Regionalliga. Newspapers reported immediately after the Paderborn-HSV cup tie, after the investigations and Hoyzer’s confession, that the Berlin referee had maintained regular contact with criminal circles. DFB press chief Harald Stenger quickly confirmed that there were indications of links to a Croatian betting mafia, also based in Berlin. Several matches, it emerged, had been systematically manipulated. On 28 January 2005, four premises in Berlin were searched and three suspects provisionally arrested. Former FIFA referee Hellmut Krug, head of the DFB refereeing department, criticised the federation’s control system, saying it had long been known within the DFB that Hoyzer had made dubious decisions. In the cup tie between Paderborn and Hamburg, there had not even been a referee observer in the stadium. “The first round of the cup is never staffed that way. Only Bundesliga matches always have observers who file written reports,” Krug said.

The consequences of the manipulated cup match were

The consequences of the manipulated cup match were severe.

The consequences of the manipulated cup match were severe. Klaus Toppmöller, Hamburg’s coach at the time, lost his job barely two months later and in a subsequent interview named the defeat in Paderborn as one of the contributing factors. HSV later lodged a protest against both the result and the red card shown by Hoyzer to Emile Mpenza. On 11 February 2005 the DFB sports committee ruled that there could be no replay, because two further rounds of the cup had already been played by then. As compensation, Hamburg were awarded 500,000 euros plus about 1.5 million euros in income from a Germany international. The suspension imposed on Mpenza was annulled.

The events around Robert Hoyzer and the negative

The events around Robert Hoyzer and the negative impact on HSV are well known.

The events around Robert Hoyzer and the negative impact on HSV are well known. Less well known is the fact that SC Paderborn were not only victims of the manipulation but also beneficiaries and, in a sense, perpetrators. Despite the manipulated victory, the club might theoretically even have gone on to win the DFB Cup. It was not expelled from the competition, but allowed to continue. Paderborn even survived the next round before losing in the round of 16 to SC Freiburg, 4-1 on penalties after a draw. And it was not only referee Hoyzer who had been bribed for the Paderborn-HSV match: SCP captain Thijs Waterink was also willing to take part in the manipulation. He accepted a 10,000-euro win bonus in advance and, in agreement with Hoyzer, won a penalty by deception. Waterink then distributed the money among the mostly unsuspecting Paderborn squad. When the affair came to light, he was suspended until the end of the 2004/05 season and then “shipped off” back to his Dutch homeland.

Another detail often overlooked is that not just

Another detail often overlooked is that not just Hoyzer was involved in the scandal, but several men with whistles.

Another detail often overlooked is that not just Hoyzer was involved in the scandal, but several men with whistles. Referee Torsten Koop was suspended for three months because he reported an attempt by Hoyzer to recruit him only belatedly to the DFB. Today’s FIFA referee Felix Zwayer was even suspended for six months because he failed to report match-fixing known to him and accepted 300 euros from Hoyzer before a match between Wuppertaler SV and Werder Bremen II in order, as assistant referee, to avoid critical calls against Wuppertal. The DFB initially concealed the verdict against Zwayer. The matter only became public in 2014. Transparency, DFB style.

Still genuinely mysterious - and as of December

Still genuinely mysterious - and as of December 2019 never really cleared up - is the fraud suspicion surrounding three Bundesliga players from Hertha BSC.

Still genuinely mysterious - and as of December 2019 never really cleared up - is the fraud suspicion surrounding three Bundesliga players from Hertha BSC. It could never be substantiated, but nor could it be fully dismissed. The brothers Milan S. and Philip S., arrested on 29 January 2005 and identified as the men who bribed Robert Hoyzer, implicated Alexander Madlung, Nando Rafael and Josip Šimunić. They allegedly frequented the “King” betting café run by Milan S. on Rankestraße in Charlottenburg. The DFB Cup tie between Hertha BSC and then Regionalliga side Eintracht Braunschweig on 22 September 2004 moved into the centre of the investigation, because in the second-round match at Braunschweig, Rafael, Šimunić and Madlung all played and the Berliners surprisingly lost 3-2. The decisive goal for Braunschweig came from an own goal in the 80th minute - scored by Alexander Madlung, who had been brought on only four minutes earlier.

Relegation in 2020 as bottom club with only 20 points brought Paderborn’s short Bundesliga adventure to an end.