TheBundesliga scandal (der Bundesliga-Skandal) refers to themalicious, for-profit manipulation of games in the1970–71 German football championship season.
The manipulation of games was revealed when the president ofKickers Offenbach,Horst-Gregorio Canellas, presented an audio-tape toDFB officials and a few journalists at his 50th birthdaygarden-party. In that tape, several players, including German internationalsBernd Patzke andManfred Manglitz, could be heard offering to let themselves bebribed to help Offenbach avoidrelegation.[1]
The chiefprosecutor of the DFB,Hans Kindermann, found out that, amongst others, the 17 April 1971 game betweenFC Schalke andArminia Bielefeld that ended 0–1, had been "sold" (orthrown) by Schalke's players and the board of directors. Afterwards, many of the Schalke players were banned for long periods, while several lifetime bans were imposed.
The players maintained their innocence, and even swore anoath to that, but the oath was eventually proven to be false. Schalke's rivals, especially from theRuhr, still occasionally refer to Schalke asFC Meineid (German for "FC Perjury").
Fifty-two players, two managers and six club functionaries were punished. Also, Bielefeld and Offenbach had their license to participate in theBundesliga revoked. Offenbach had been relegated due to their sporting performance anyway, despite the manipulated games, but Bielefeld played in the next Bundesliga season. Eventually, Bielefeld finished playing all 34 games of the1971–72 season, but were punished by automatic relegation after that season, officially receiving zero points for each game independently of their actual record.
*Strictly speaking, the game was not manipulated, but the Braunschweig players were promised, and given, for winning this game an additional bonus by a third party, which was illegal.
