The President of the German Football Federation accused the media of blowing the issue out of all proportion.
“We don\’t have a betting scandal but a scenario conceived by (German television programme) Plusminus and (Munich daily) TZ and based on pure speculation,” Zwanziger told a news conference.
Zwanziger also issued a vehement denial of newspaper claim that Bastian Schweinsteiger was the international footballer involved in a betting scandal.
Munich newspaper TZ named the Bayern star and two players from second division club 1860 Munich, Paul Agostino and Quido Lanzaat, as involved in placing suspiciously high bets on matches which were allegedly fixed.
UPDATE: The players named by TZ as being involved in the betting scandal have taked legal action against the newspaper, with a claim for damages running into millions of euros.
Elsewhere, Filippo Gaone, Chairman of Belgium first division club La Louviere, and Laurent Denis, the club\’s lawyer, have been charged in connection with allegations of match-fixing.
A total of five Belgian clubs along with many officials, players and individuals, are under police investigation after that the internet betting exchange Betfair logged suspicious betting patterns for La Louviere\’s 3-1 win over St Truiden on last October.
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