The German Football Association's committee of control recommended on Friday that referee Dominik Marks receive a lifetime ban for alleged match-fixing.

The DFB accuses Marks of influencing the resulf of a regional league match between the amateur sides of Hertha Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld on August 11, 2004, and taking bribes.

The 29-year-old is also charged with being paid for agreeing to fix the second division match between Karlsruher SC and MSV Duisburg on December 3, 2004, although Marks did not appear to have influenced any of Duisburg's three goals.

"Referee Marks has, with his wrongdoing, grossly violated his duty to lead a match neutrally. He has caused great damage to the image of referees and deeply affected football in Germany," the DFB's charge sheet reads.

"The perpetrators of such failings as referees cannot be part of the German footballing community."

Marks has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. A final decision is expected from the DFB's sports tribunal within a few months.

The match-fixing and betting scandal came to light after Robert Hoyzer, the referee at the center of the affair, admitted at the end of January that he had influenced results and agreed to

cooperate with the investigation.

The DFB last month banned Hoyzer, 25, for life for fixing and attempting to fix a series of matches and receiving bribes of 67,000 euros (84,740 US dollars) and a flat-screen television.

A key suspect in the scandal has acknowledged in the past week that he was engaged in betting designed to profit from match-fixing. The Croatian owner of a cafe in Berlin provided prosecutors with 40 pages of testimony.

Berlin prosecutors are investigating 25 people, including Hoyzer, Marks, two other referees and 14 players suspected of having manipulated at least 10 matches in 2004.

Marks himself spent four weeks in custody. He was arrested on the basis of information supplied by Hoyzer and was released on bail last month after surrendering his and his wife's passports.

Source: Xinhua