The German Ante Sapina today admitted in court that he bribed soccer players and referees to manipulate games. The 35-year-old suspect is considered the linchpin in a huge betting scandal.

Sapina and five co-defendants are held in Bochum, Germany and had to appear in court today. Sapina admitted his guilt. "I've given money to players and we rigged several competitions."

An investigation into the betting scandal includes 32 matches in European leagues and about three hundred matches fall under suspicion of bribery. According to the German justice department, Sapina and his henchmen earned over 1.6 million euros by betting big money on games already rigged.

Sapina is no stranger to the German judiciary. In 2005, he was involved in a betting scandal surrounding the referee Robert Hoyzer. For his part in that case Sapina spent two years and eleven months in jail. The verdict in this case is likely to follow next week.