Dutch defender Thijs Waterink of amateur side Paderborn has become the first player to be suspended over the match-fixing scandal that has rocked German football.
The German football federation said it is banning the 36-year-old Waterink until July 31 this year for "unsporting behaviour and involvement in corruption."
Waterink admitted accepting nearly $13,000 from an unidentified man before his team's Cup match against Hamburg SV earlier this season. Paderborn won after earning two dubious penalty kicks.
Referee Robert Hoyzer later admitted he had fixed the game to allow Paderborn to win in return for a payment of about $25,000, allegedly from a Croatian betting syndicate.
The match-fixing scandal has caused alarm in Germany, which is hosting next year's World Cup finals.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
