The 1970–71 Bundesliga was the eighth season of the Bundesliga, West Germany's premier football league. It began on 15 August 1970 and ended on 5 June 1971.[1]Borussia Mönchengladbach were the defending champions.
Competition modus
Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference and, if still tied, by goals scored. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the two teams with the fewest points were relegated to their respective Regionalliga divisions.
Eventually, it was revealed that the decisions in the league had not been determined on the strength of each team alone. On 6 June 1971, Offenbach chairman Horst-Gregorio Canellas played an audio tape to an audience who originally had gathered to celebrate Canellas' 50th birthday. The circle included national team coach Helmut Schön, as well as high DFB representatives and also a few reporters. The tape proved that matches had been sold for money. Soon, the DFB launched its own investigation. It was discovered that a total of 18 games had been fixed, including almost every relevant match in the relegation decision. Over 60 players from ten clubs were involved and nearly one million marks had been paid. Nevertheless, the first verdicts were not spoken until after the start of the following season, meaning that the bribed games officially counted in the final table.[2]
Source: DFB Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. Notes:
^The Borussia Mönchengladbach v Werder Bremen match from 3 April 1971 was suspended after 88 minutes and a score of 1–1 due to a broken goal post. Since Borussia Mönchengladbach could not provide a replacement goal post, the match was abandoned and later awarded to Werder Bremen with a score of 0–2.[4][5]
^Kracht, Claudia (15 January 2008). "Der Bundesliga-Skandal 1971" (in German). Planet Wissen. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
^ abGrüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs, Band 7: Vereinslexikon (in German). Kassel: AGON Sportverlag. ISBN978-3-89784-147-5.