Berlin, Germany (CNN) -- Four men went on trial in Germany Wednesday in connection with a huge soccer match-fixing scandal that may have affected about 270 games across Europe and Asia, German court officials said.
The men, aged between 32 and 55, are accused of fixing the results of soccer matches by bribing or otherwise influencing players and referees, then betting on the games, German court officials said.
Players' and referees' bribes were 1.5 million euros (about $2 million) and bets went into the millions, prosecutors said.
"A group of persons appear to have decided to put pressure on players and referees in order to influence the outcome of football games," the state court in Bochum, Germany, said Wednesday.
"In the knowledge of this manipulation they then placed bets in Germany, Austria, England or Asia. Even if these attempts at manipulation weren't successful, the actual placing of the bets may be criminally punishable," said the court where the men are being tried.
The court identified them only as G, from Lohne; A, from Moenchengladbach; S, from Schweinfurt; and R from Lippstadt, all in Germany.
CNN
