IT IS ALL STARTING TO MAKE A LITTLE bit of tapping-up in a London hotel look quite wholesome. Across Europe, the whistle-blowers are having the whistle blown on their nefarious activities.

The most serious case is in Germany, where Robert Hoyzer, a referee, has admitted to influencing games for profit. The widening investigation led to police raids on houses last week, witnesses having to defend their integrity and even the intervention of “Der Kaiser”, with Franz Beckenbauer expressing his concern that the publicity attached to the corruption investigation may taint next year’s World Cup in Germany.

On the far side of the Continent, Antonio Azevedo Duarte, the vice president of the Portuguese FA’s referees’ committee, was this week indicted on charges of corruption. Five referees have been suspended after a police investigation that bears the ominous codename of Golden Whistle. They may have changed the colour of their shirts, but any suspicion that the men in black keep their finances that way by manipulating results is enough to make Uefa and Fifa quiver.

It almost comes as a relief that the latest scandal in Belgium concerns a club in relegation trouble offering the opponents of their rivals a bonus to win. Patrick Groots, a former forward for FC Antwerp, claimed that Charleroi offered players at Sint-Truiden money if they beat his side in May last year. Sint-Truiden duly defeated Antwerp, who were relegated, 2-1, and an arrest warrant has been issued for a 59-year-old man allegedly involved in arranging a transaction. He is not thought to be a referee.

Back in Germany, Felix Zwayer, one of Hoyzer’s colleagues, acknowledged that he was approached to fix the result of a second-division match between Rot-Weiss Essen and FC Cologne but said that he went to the authorities immediately.

“I can sleep well because I know I have not manipulated games,” Zwayer said. “When I got this firm offer from Robert Hoyzer, I went to my refereeing colleagues. That was the moment for me when the situation weighed on me so much that I had to react straightaway. I stress once again that I strongly rejected this offer straight away.”

But offers, whether accepted or not, were clearly being bandied around. Hoyzer, who has admitted to making about £34,000 by manipulating matches in conjunction with a Croatian gambling syndicate, has left the German authorities rattled. Though only two arrests have been made, 25 people, including 14 players and four referees, are under investigation and a number of clubs have appealed against the results of 13 games. Bookmakers have alleged unusual betting patterns on a number of other games and the scandal looks certain to implicate more figures within the game.

The ripples have reached even the highest levels, drawing a response from Beckenbauer, whose brief as president of the World Cup organising committee rarely leads to an interest in events in the second division. “Like all football fans, I’m shocked by these scandalous incidents,” Beckenbauer said. “This acrimonious tale must be relentlessly investigated and cleared up by legal authorities as soon as possible.

The ramifications for the World Cup next year clearly worry its organisers. “Our World Cup must, and will, keep its positive image,” Beckenbauer said. “I cannot anticipate the investigation but my personal opinion is that there must be the toughest sanctions for those proven to be guilty. Any referee who has deceived football and the game’s fans must never be allowed back on to the list.”

But every decision is now under scrutiny. On Saturday Michael Weiner, the referee, gave Bayern Munich a questionable penalty with the scores level during their 2-0 victory at home to Bayer Leverkusen. “The penalty was a complete joke,” Klaus Augenthaler, the Leverkusen coach, said. But no one was laughing. And if they were, hopefully not all the way to the bank.

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