DUESSELDORF, Germany, March 27 - Prosecutors in Cologne questioned a
former Bayer Leverkusen managing director on Monday as part of an investigation
into the alleged fixing of top-flight matches involving the Bundesliga club.
Reiner Calmund, who stepped down from the club in mid-2004, is suspected of
making cash payments to fix three Bundesliga matches in the 2002-2003 season to
help Leverkusen avoid relegation. Calmund has denied the allegations.
Calmund's lawyers said that after hearings with state prosecutors lasting
around seven hours, their client had "thoroughly refuted" the match-fixing
accusations.
"No questions remain open", Stefan Seitz und Sven Thomas said in a statement,
adding that Calmund expected Leverkusen to deny the allegations with "equal
clarity".
Calmund was quoted as saying in Monday's edition of Bild newspaper he was
pleased about the prospect of being questioned and that it would be like a
"clearance" in soccer terminology.
"It's making me nervous as it's the first time I will have been in court as
the accused," he told the paper. "I will clear up everything with the
prosecutors' office."
Authorities are trying to determine what happened to 580,000 euros ($698,500)
of the club's money that Calmund has said was for options on buying players,
Cologne prosecutor Guenther Feld said in an interview with German TV broadcaster
N24 on Monday.
"Part of a written statement that was sent to us (by Bayer Leverkusen)
revealed that the whereabouts of this 580,000 euros could possibly be explained
by match-fixing," Feld said.
A spokesman for the German soccer association (DFB) said that Leverkusen had
submitted documents to the DFB in conjunction with the investigation into
Calmund. He gave no details about what the documents contained.
German media reports at the weekend said the Leverkusen matches under
suspicion were home victories against Arminia Bielefeld and 1860 Munich and an
away win against Nuremberg.
An unidentified players' agent was also being investigated in connection with
the case, Feld said at the weekend.