The alleged ringleader of Germany's match-fixing network has said the whole scam originated with Robert Hoyzer, the referee at the centre of the scandal.

The claim came on the second day of the match-fixing trial in Berlin, 10 months after it emerged that Hoyzer allegedly accepted €67,000 in bribes to manipulate the results of at least nine second-division and regional matches.

Hoyzer told police he was approached by Ante Sapina, the Croatian-born owner of a Berlin betting shop. But Sapina, who has already admitted charges of corruption and of winning over €2 million on the rigged games, said yesterday it was all Hoyzer's idea.

"He made the offer. He said, 'What would it be worth to you then if Paderborn won at the weekend?' " said Sapina, referring to a regional match between Paderborn and Chemnitz on May 22nd last year. According to Sapina, a drunken Hoyzer said he had already received €5,000 for throwing another match.

When the Paderborn-Chemnitz match fix didn't end as agreed, Sapina said Hoyzer paid back the €8,000 he had been given. "But Robert said everything would work out the next time," he said.

It was the start of a corrupt collaboration that has shaken German football and thrown a shadow over preparations for next year's World Cup.

Sapina told a packed Berlin court he was introduced to Hoyzer in early 2004 by a cousin, also a referee.

"(Robert's) actually a nice guy. Sometimes a little condescending to others. But you can really party with him," he said, as Hoyzer took copious notes.

Hoyzer faces 11 charges, including complicity to fraud, and has co-operated with the authorities. He has been banned for life from refereeing.

His most spectacular alleged match fix came in a German Cup match between SC Paderborn and SV Hamburg in August last year, which underdogs Paderborn won 4-2 after Hoyzer awarded them two penalties and sent off a Hamburg player.

Sapina, and his brothers, Filip and Milan, face charges of mass fraud, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Some of the bribe accusations include betting €240,000 on a match between SC Karlsruhe and MSV Duisburg, netting them €870,000, and winning €300,000 for a €26,000 bet on Holstein Kiel versus FC Chemnitz.

Steffen Karl, a defender and midfielder with third-division Chemnitz, is also on trial and faces five charges of allegedly helping throw matches for €10,000. Sapina said Hoyzer approached Karl to help influence the result.

The final defendant, Dominik Marks, was accused by Hoyzer of throwing two matches and faces five charges. Sapina confirmed Hoyzer's allegations yesterday, saying Marks received €7,000.

Sapina confirmed Hoyzer's allegation that the network of bribes for throwing matches was more widespread than investigators suspected initially.