New arrest in Germany's match-fixing scandal

The German referee Dominik Marks has been arrested at his apartment in Berlin on suspicion of fraud for fixing three matches late last year.

The German referee Dominik Marks has been arrested at his apartment in Berlin on suspicion of fraud for fixing three matches late last year.

A spokesman for the Berlin state prosecutors office said the arrest warrant for Marks, 29, was based on "credible information provided by Robert Hoyzer that was supported by other objective evidence".

Hoyzer, 25, is at the centre of the worst match-fixing scandal to hit German football in more than 30 years. Hoyzer has admitted fixing matches for money from a gambling gang and is cooperating with prosecutors. Hoyzer and Marks worked in the German second and third divisions.

Hoyzer, arrested in February, faces eight charges of complicity to defraud. He was released two weeks later. He surrendered his passport and reports to police three times a week.

Elsewhere, the Villarreal striker Diego Forlan will be recalled to the Uruguay squad after ironing out his differences with coach Jorge Fossati. Fossati is set to name a squad today for World Cup qualifiers at the end of March and said yesterday that the former Manchester United striker would be included.

"We've spoken to Diego and everything's fine, it's all settled and so he will be picked for the next two games," Fossati said.

Forlan had announced in October he was temporarily quitting the Uruguay team because he was not being selected despite making the trans-Atlantic trips for World Cup qualifiers.

Fossati appears to have had a change of heart with Forlan enjoying a rich vein of form playing for Villarreal where he is thetop scorer in La Liga with 16 goals. He last played for Uruguay as a substitute against Argentina in Buenos Aires on 9 October, remaining on the bench away to Bolivia three days later and missing the home win over Paraguay in their last qualifier in November.

The Internazionale striker Alvaro Recoba also stepped aside from the Uruguay squad last year because of a lack of form. Uruguay are away to Chile on 26 March and home to Brazil in Montevideo four days later. They are fifth in the 10-nation South American group from which the top four qualify directly with the fifth playing off against the Oceania zone winners.

The French World Cup winner and former Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly is pondering a return to European football. The 36-year-old, playing for the Qatar league leaders Al Gharafah, says he is enjoying his football so much that he would consider a return to Europe.

"Playing has inspired me to ask myself questions about my future career," Desailly said. "I don't see why I shouldn't continue playing in a European league once my time in Qatar is up. I look at the example set by Fernando Hierro, who has carried on playing for Bolton, and it gives me food for thought. I miss being in Europe as I don't get to see my family much."

Desailly said the experience of challenging for honours in Qatar has reignited his competitive spirit.

"My team has a good chance of winning the title and the pressure and motivation have made me want to continue playing at the top level," he said. "My experience in Qatar has gone better than I'd expected."

The former Chelsea and Milan defender played 116 times for France before retiring from internationals after Euro 2004.