The Brazilian Senate approved this Wednesday the creation of a commission that will investigate the scandal unleashed by the alleged manipulation of results in soccer matches to favor mafias that operate in sports betting.
The parliamentary committee will have as rapporteur the senator and former soccer player Romário and will have powers to call representatives of football clubs and anyone involved in the scandal to testify.
A report with 109 suspicious matches
Romário stated that the commission intendsand “open the black boxes of the betting houses” to know what type of manipulation there has been and identify the authors.
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In the request for the creation of the commission, Romário cited a report that identified 109 parties with suspicions of manipulation held in Brazil in 2023.
Next week, first session
The commission must hold its first session next week and intends to call for testimony on that day to the president of Botafogo, John Textor, who claims to have evidence of match manipulation in last year’s league.
The results manipulation scandal is also being investigated by Justice and so far there are seven footballers charged for allegedly having rigged results in at least 13 football matches, including eight in the First Division championship.
Last year the Chamber of Deputies created a commission similar investigation, but after four months of work it closed falsely, without getting a report with recommendations signed.
