Austrian Sports Minister Norbert Darabos has called for the "harshest penalties" possible for those involved in a European match-fixing scandal.

Darabos said Monday that clubs guilty of corruption should be withdrawn from all competitions. Prosecutors have declined to give names.

He says "we need very serious sanctions" and wants soccer authorities to "send a clear signal."

The investigation has resulted in 15 arrests in Germany and two in Switzerland, while house searches took place in Austria.

Investigators believe 200 games — 11 in Austria's first division — have been manipulated, including three in qualifying for the Champions League and 12 in the Europa League.

A betting syndicate is suspected of bribing players, coaches, referees and other officials to fix games.

Organized crime link alleged

German soccer authorities have set up a task force to deal with the findings of the match-fixing investigation.

German football federation president Theo Zwanziger, speaking at a news conference Monday in Frankfurt, said officials all have to work closely with state prosecutors because they were dealing with organized crime.

"On our own, we would be helpless," Zwanziger said.

Zwanziger said he had talked to prosecutors in Bochum, Germany, who are leading the investigation and has been promised co-operation.

Some soccer officials have complained that they had not been given enough information by the prosecutors.