A key suspect in Germany's match-fixing scandal has admitted his role in the affair, German prosecutors and his lawyer said on Thursday.

Ante S., the Croatian owner of a cafe in Berlin, is accused of organized fraud in connection with the fixing of German football matches.

Berlin prosecutors said he had given 40 pages of testimony over five days in the course of the past week.

Lawyer Stefan Conen, representing Ante S., said he had admitted to involvement in betting in part to point out that the role of his two brothers, who are also being held, had been massively exaggerated.

Conen also said his client had quashed suggestions that the match-fixing may have had gone beyond German borders, such as into Austria as some media have reported.

"The statement from Mr S. indicated that there was no international dimension," he said.

Berlin prosecutors are investigating 25 people, including four referees and 14 players, who are suspected of having manipulated at least 10 matches in 2004.

Ante S. and his brothers are being held in custody. The German Football Association (DFB) last month banned referee Robert Hoyzer for life. Hoyzer is the central figure in the country's biggest match-rigging scandal in over 30 years.

Hoyzer has admitted fixing and attempting to fix a series of matches after receiving bribes of 67,000 euros (84,740 US dollars)from a betting group.

The most important match Hoyzer rigged was Bundesliga club Hamburg SV's loss to third division SC Paderborn in the first round of the German Cup earlier this season.

The DFB agreed a compensation package worth at least two million euros to Hamburg for the Cup exit.