Eight players from the first division of Brazilian soccer were separated of their clubs in the last few hours, most of them for an indefinite period, on suspicion of fixing matches in 2022, in a case that is shocking the land of ‘jogo bonito’ and that may have international repercussions.
Five soccer players were separated from the activities of their respective squads without divulging a possible return date, after their names appeared in gambler conversations found by prosecutors and revealed by local media this Wednesday, the cast reported.
Those concerned are the winger Pedrinho and the Ecuadorian midfielder Bryan García (Athletico Paranaense), defenders Vitor Mendes (Fluminense) and Nino Paraíba (América Mineiro), and midfielder Richard (Cruzeiro).
Apart from them, defender Eduardo Bauermann, from Santos, He had been separated on Tuesday for an indeterminate period after being indicted on Tuesday by the Goiás public ministry (center), for the alleged commission of a crime related to fraud in the sports result.
for now, Coritiba withdrew Uruguayan midfielder Jesús Trindade and attacker Alef Manga from the squad for this Thursday’s league match against Vasco da Gama, after their names appeared on a bettors’ list published by the newspaper O Globo.
They are joined by Argentine defender Kevin Lomónaco, from Red Bull Bragantino, who had not been training with the São Paulo eleven since mid-April, when investigations against him became known, a club source told AFP on condition of anonymity on Wednesday.
– “International impact –
Unlike Mendes (Juventude), Nino Paraíba and Richard (Ceará), the players Bauermann, Pedrinho, García, Lomónaco, Manga and Trindade they were in their current clubs at the time the irregularities occurred.
If found guilty of result manipulation, players expose themselves to a penalty of up to six years in prison.
The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, ordered the Federal Police (PF) to open an investigation about the manipulations, which, he warned, could have “international repercussions”.
“I am in favor of the preventive suspension based on specific suspicions and even expulsion from the sport in proven cases. Whoever commits crimes should not be part of football,” said the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues, in a statement alongside him.
The entity that organizes the Brasileirao assured that “there is no chance that the current competition is suspended”.
– Operation Maximum Penalty –
The departure of the footballers is part of the “Operation Maximum Penalty”, launched last November by the Goiás prosecutor’s office against a “criminal organization” that manipulates matches to win large sums on online betting sites.
Athletes were offered between 10,000 and 20,000 dollars for being reprimanded or expelled, force a certain number of corner kicks, trigger penalties or guarantee scores.
Initial inquiries focused on second division games, but quickly led to state tournaments and the Brasileiraoand it is not ruled out that it includes competitions outside of Brazil.
In its most recent advance against this criminal structure, the public ministry denounced in court on Tuesday 16 people, including footballers, intermediaries and bettors.
Prosecutors point them out having manipulated thirteen parties from different categories and competitions, including eight from the 2022 Brasileirao.
Adulterations in Brazilian football are not new, although the Latin American giant has tightened the sanctions and increased investments to monitor gambling in recent years.
The country still remembers the “Mafia do Apito” (Whistle Mafia), in which two referees, including FIFA Edílson Pereira de Carvalho, allied with gamblers to rig results in the Brasileirao-2005.
Eleven games had to be repeated and the judges were vetoed.
