In their report on the unfolding European-wide game-fixing scandal, Marcus Walker and David Crawfor describe a suspected fixed game involving German fourth division team SC Verl. An alleged member of the gambling ring bet $70,000 on SC Verl to lose and won $166,000 when it fell on an own goal.

The breadth of the scandal -- in which a network of about 200 people is alleged to have bribed soccer players, referees and club officials to manipulate more than 200 matches in 17 countries -- "shows how a combination of globalization, the Internet and the rising popularity of legal gambling on soccer are increasing opportunities for organized crime."

According to arrest warrants and a summary of the evidence seen by suspects' lawyers, the suspects allegedly tried to hide their rigged bets amid the large volume of bets placed on Internet gambling sites from Malta to the Philippines.

"Bribes are paid in Europe, bets are placed in Asia, and the profits are taken in Berlin," Joerg Ziercke, head of Germany's Federal Crimes Office. Games under investigation were mostly in minor leagues in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Belgium, but the list also includes top-tier games in Turkey and the former Yugoslavia, and at least one UEFA Champions League game is being called "suspicious" -- a 4-0 loss by Albania's KF Tirana's 4-0 to Norway's Stabaek in July. Stabaek isn't under suspicion. Read the original story...