Bookmaker bans players from betting

German bookmaker Oddset will no longer accept bets from any players, trainers or referees for matches in which they are directly involved because of a match-rigging scandal, the state-owned company said yesterday.

Erwin Horak, head of the Munich-based company, said the move was made in response to the scandal involving Robert Hoyzer.

"We've agreed to exclude anyone who could have an influence on the outcome of a sporting event," Horak told the German news agency SID. "That includes referees, players and coaches."

Oddset, which has said it lost around one million euros on two of the matches Hoyzer fixed, said it had warned the DFB on August 23 about unusually heavy betting, mainly from Berlin, on two matches under Hoyzer's control about five months before he was suspended.

2005-03-12