The Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) is investigating five Real Santa Cruz players on suspicion of match-fixing.
On January 28, the FBF informed that Ricardo Suárez, Oscar Ribera, Luis Ruono, Samuel Pozo and Brian López, in addition to club directors, must submit a report by February 10. Otherwise, they will face sanctions for lack of cooperation.
The investigation focuses on three matches from December 2024, in which Real Santa Cruz were defeated by an aggregate score of 10-3. This sequence of defeats resulted in the club’s relegation from the first division of Bolivian football at the end of the season, on December 22nd of last year.
The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) suspended the three games after manipulation detectors identified anomalies in the betting markets. The entity’s Ethics Committee declared that “when appropriate, it will sanction conduct that harms the reputation and integrity of Bolivian football”.
Another scandal in Bolivian football
These new allegations add to concerns about match-fixing in Bolivian football. In 2023, the FBF had already suspended the first division season and the Copa de la División Profesional due to suspicions of corruption.
The suspension was lifted only after an agreement with Conmebol to intensify monitoring, revealing more irregularities.
Financial problems and manipulation of results
In November 2024, the International Federation of Professional Football Players (FIFPRO) announced that 13 of Bolivia’s 16 first division clubs were in arrears with salaries, reaching the 18-month mark. This report emerged weeks before the allegations against Real Santa Cruz players.
Brazil also faces similar problems. Felippe Marchetti, from Sportradar, highlighted that financial instability in clubs creates favorable conditions for manipulating results.
According to him, “economic instability can make players and managers more susceptible to manipulation by organized crime groups.”
Match manipulation beyond football
Football is not the only sport affected in Bolivia. Tennis has also suffered from scandals, resulting in severe punishments. In May 2023, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) banned Bolivian referee Heriberto Morales Churata for six years for corruption, including betting fixing.
Two months later, Percy Flores, another tennis referee, was suspended for 12 years by the ITIA for 31 violations of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program between November 2021 and October 2022.
