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.