Several football matches in Germany under suspicion of manipulation

The Hesse state office of criminal investigation confirmed reports on Friday that 17 football matches in Germany are under suspicion of manipulation.

The Hamburger Morgenpost reported earlier that matches in the third, fourth and fifth divisions have been manipulated in the past two years for the purpose of betting fraud.

The third division is the lowest professional league in the German football system, while the fourth and fifth divisions are amateur leagues.

The German Football Federation (DFB) is aware of the allegations and is taking the matter "very seriously."

In some of the games in question, there were allegedly conspicuous mistakes by the referees and serious errors by goalkeepers and defenders.

Information about the expected match results for the 17 games were reportedly on the darknet, which may have enabled high betting profits. Corresponding chat histories are said to prove the criminal deals.

The DFB, however, doubts that football matches can be manipulated to achieve an exact result and it said that it doesn't yet have any reliable information on the matter.

"We are already in contact with the relevant authorities and our monitoring partner Genius Sports. In view of the ongoing investigations, the DFB is unable to make any further statements," the association said.

It's unclear which matches were exactly affected, but police in the state of Saarland told dpa on Friday that they are investigating a suspected manipulation of football game on behalf of the Saarbrücken public prosecutor's office.

The Hesse state office of criminal investigation is aware of two "conspicuous" games, which are currently being investigated. No further details were provided.

The potential for manipulated matches in the amateur leagues is particularly high because referees and players are paid poorly or not at all.