The German magazine, Der Speigel, is now reporting that the 2006 European Cupwinner's Cup final may have corrupted. Chekov Medvedi beat Valladolid narrowly on aggregate and when German officiating pair Frank Lemme and Bernd Ulrich went through security at the Moscow airport they were notified that they had $50,000 in their luggage. Lemme and Ulrich do not deny that the money was found in their luggage, but maintain that they had no idea how the money got there and that they had refused an offer to fix the match prior to the game.

The German Bundesliga and the EHF have replaced Lemme/Ulrich for upcoming matches until the investigation is resolved. Lemme/Ulrich are widely considered one of the best officiating pairs in the world. They've officiated numerous top matches including last summer's olympic finale. Ironically, they are also the German pair that was infamously replaced by the Lebanese pair at the Asia Olympic qualification match between South Korea and Kuwait.

Der Speigel: -link-
EHF Notice: -link-