Sedatives supplied to club doctors: lawyer

The doctor of a Slovenian team was given sedatives to use on his own players,and the chefs in luxury hotels were given drugs to disable players,Benecken said. Whether it actually happened is not known, he added.

Benecken represents one of 15 people arrested in Germany and says he has seen the files of Bochum prosecutors leading the investigation in what football officials say is the biggest match-fixing scandal to hit Europe. The games include some qualifying matches in the Champions League.

Prosecutors say the gang is suspected of bribing players,coaches,referees and other officials to manipulate games so that it could make money by betting on the fixed games.

Beneckens client,identified only as Deniz C,is accused of kidnapping and fraud and is suspected of making nearly euro1 million in bets on manipulated games. He is supposed to have kidnapped somebody and held him for three days, the lawyer said.

The betting network had a global presence and was active in many Asian countries,with a middleman based in Rotterdam,Netherlands,Benecken said,citing prosecutors files. Meanwhile,German fourth-tier club Ulm said it had suspended three players suspected of involvement in match-fixing. They are Davor Kraljevic,Marijo Marinovic and Dinko Radojevic.