Life ban for disgraced Hoyzer

Disgraced German referee Robert Hoyzer has been banned from officiating games for life and expelled from the DFB (German Football Federation) after admitting to match-fixing.

The official has admitted to manipulating results in an affair which has shocked world football.

The allegations first came to light when Hoyzer was revealed to have fixed the match which saw Bundesliga side Hamburg eliminated from the DFB-Pokal competition by lower division club Paderborn.

The fixture, which led to the sacking of under-threat Hamburg coach Klaus Toppmoller, saw some odd decisions by Hoyzer, including the sending off of Hamburg forward Emile Mpenza for no apparent reason.

However, Hoyzer, who also faces a criminal investigation, has been banned by the DFB over eight incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct.

A statement posted on the www.dfb.de website read: “Robert Hoyzer has been handed the maximum penalty by the DFB sports court as he was kicked out of the federation and banned for life for unsportsmanlike conduct in eight cases.

“He will not be allowed to take a post – especially one as a referee – in the DFB, its federations or clubs again.”

The judge who delivered the verdict, Dr Rainer Koch, said: “Hoyzer has caused German football, and especially the referees, an incredible damage.

“A sports court is limited in its actions to sanction the economic damage. Federal authorities might also sanction him legally. A sports court can only hand him the biggest punishment for his unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Hoyzer has accepted the verdict.