Hoyzer receives provisional ban

Robert Hoyzer was barred from refereeing on the grounds of gross sporting misconduct yesterday, two weeks after admitting fixing matches in Germany.

The provisional ban from the German Football Association (DFB) is the first formal sanction against Hoyzer in relation to a case that has tarnished the image of German soccer as the country prepares to host the 2006 World Cup.

"Robert Hoyzer admitted at a hearing on February 9 that on multiple occasions he had fixed matches in the Cup, second division and regional league in agreement with betting shop clients," the DFB said in a statement.

"The DFB has ordered an immediate provisional ban for gross sporting misconduct."

Hoyzer confessed to the central role in Germany's biggest soccer corruption scandal in over 30 years via a statement from his lawyers on January 27. He had resigned from the DFB six days earlier.

Berlin prosecutors are investigating 25 people in connection with the case, including Hoyzer, three other referees and 14 players.

¤ German players will receive €250,000 each if they win next year's World Cup in Germany, soccer magazine Kicker reported yesterday. "We are agreed on the details," defender Christian Woerns was quoted as saying about negotiations with the German Football Association. According to the report, members of Juergen Klinsmann's squad would receive €50,000 per man if they reached the quarter-finals but were then knocked out. The figure would rise to €100,000 as losing semi-finalists and €150,000 as losing finalists.