Manipulation in football_SPortradar

Despite confidential contract clauses preventing Sportradar from revealing the names, it is known that until October 16 of this year, more than 130 football matches were suspected of being manipulated in the results within the Brazilian championships, most of which were in lower leagues.

Sportradar specializes in the field and has a partnership with 150 federations and sports leagues, in addition to having an agreement with the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) to monitor competitions organized by the entity.

In addition, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Police in a cooperation agreement for investigations into violations of sporting integrity in Brazil, passing on information about suspected irregularities.

In 2022, Sportradar found more than a thousand games under suspicion in more than 86 countries, within 12 different sports, a new record, surpassing the 905 cases registered in 2021.

The company works with a monitoring system that detects irregular and suspicious betting patterns. This system is made with sophisticated machine-learning algorithms and a constantly updated betting database, which collects real-time information from more than 600 global betting operators in order to detect match fixing.

The more the number of online sports betting houses and platforms grows and develops, the more concern about sporting integrity increases. Match manipulation has evolved and become much more sophisticated and targeted, reaching more sports.

Suspected cases in Brazil this year

The Cearense Championship was suspended on suspicion of match fixing. Crato was relegated after finishing the first phase in last place with 39 goals conceded in 14 games. The Ceará Football Federation has a partnership with Sportradar for the company to monitor matches.

Another example of irregularities was in Amazonian football: Atlético Amazonense lost 3-1 to Sul América in the second state division when a player deliberately scored an own goal in the 44th minute of the second half. The fact drew attention and the video of the bid went viral on social media. The Amazonian club published a note the day after the game and reported that it dismissed those involved in the episode.

According to a report by the Terra portal, last month, the president of Atlético Amazonense, Henrique Barbosa, was banned by the Amazonas Court of Sports Justice from football-related activities and received a fine of R$ 100,000 for alleged participation in a match-fixing scheme. He had been acquitted by the court’s 2nd Disciplinary Commission, but the TJD-AM attorney’s office appealed the decision.

This Thursday, the 17th, Barbosa will participate in a hearing with the Superior Court of Sports Justice to appeal the sentence. Also according to Portal Terra, he is liable for disrespecting Articles 240 (Encouraging a self-employed athlete or belonging to any sporting entity) and 242 (Giving or promising undue advantage to a member of a sporting entity) of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice.

Athlete Júlio Campos, in turn, received a punishment of suspension from football for 300 days and a fine of R$ 25,000 applied by the court due to the goal scored against his own team. But it is worth mentioning that this situation is not limited to Brazilian football and happens abroad.

Currently, the English Football Association (FA) is prosecuting Ivan Toney, Brentford, English Premier League, for failing to comply with 232 betting rules between 2017 and 2021. The player has until the 24th of November to present his defense to the FA.