Match-fixing case against referee dropped

German prosecutors have dropped their case against the most senior referee accused of involvement in the nation's biggest soccer scandal in 30 years.

Berlin prosecutors said in a statement yesterday that their evidence was not sufficient to bring charges of match-fixing against Juergen Jansen, the only top flight Bundesliga referee implicated in events that have shocked the nation.

Jansen, 44, had been accused of agreeing to fix two games for the benefit of a betting group in November 2004, including the first division fixture between Kaiserslautern and Freiburg.

The case against him was based on evidence from a man who claimed he had been given €25,000 and had been told to ask Jansen if he could influence a game. The man acknowledged he had held on to the money.

The scandal has embarrassed Germany a year before it hosts the World Cup and only came to light when referee Robert Hoyzer admitted in January that he had influenced results and agreed to co-operate with an ensuing investigation.

Proceedings are continuing against Hoyzer, another referee, a regional league player and three Croatians accused of running a betting syndicate connected with match-fixing.

A further 20 to 25 people are also under investigation, including a number of players.

Jansen, who has insisted he is innocent, still faces a potential lifetime ban from football. However a German Football Association's (DFB) tribunal could clear him in a ruling expected soon and allow him back into the game.

The DFB has acknowledged that Jansen did not make any wrong calls.

The DFB has already banned Hoyzer for life for fixing and attempting to fix a series of matches and receiving bribes of €67,000 ($81,070) and a flat-screen television.