There is a suspicion of manipulation in German professional handball. However, initial studies do not provide any evidence for this.
After abnormalities in the betting market in the second division game between the Wolves Würzburg and the Ukrainian guest starter HC Motor Zaporischschja, the responsible commission of the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) has initiated investigations. As the HBL announced on Friday (May 26th, 2023), after an intensive analysis of the match, no abnormalities were initially found in the course of the game that would allow conclusions to be drawn about manipulation. An additional HBL expert analysis came to the same conclusion, it said.
All clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga and the HBL committees were informed about the process. In order to comprehensively refute the suspected case, the league commissioned the company Sportradar to carry out further analyzes and investigations, the HBL said.
Unusually high stakes in South East Europe
Since the 2011/12 season, the HBL has been checking its games for abnormalities in the betting market as a precautionary measure using the “Fraud Detection System” (FDS) from the company Sportradar. For the first time since the security system was deployed, the league had received an alert about a match in one of the two highest German divisions.
Accordingly, in the game on May 9, especially in betting shops in Southeast Europe, unusually high bets were placed on a half-time deficit by the Ukrainian series champions, who are not playing in the second Bundesliga this season due to the Russian war of aggression. Many betting providers would have reacted in the course of the first half and removed the match from their betting offer.
The HBL Commission then questioned the scheduled referees and DHB officials as well as the Zaporizhia team. The suspicion of manipulation was not substantiated.