After the Public Ministry of Goiás (PM-GO) launched, last Tuesday, the 18th, an operation to dismantle a criminal association specialized in match-fixing of Serie A games of the Brazilian Championship to favor sports betting, the Brazilian Confederation of Futebol (CBF) qualified, in an official note, external interference in matches as a “global epidemic”.
“External interference in results or in game situations is a global epidemic that, in order to be solved, needs to punish, in an exemplary and urgent way, those responsible for this harmful practice”, says the CBF note, which added: “it supports all and any legal action that brings transparency and fairness to the championships it organizes and to all Brazilian sport”.
According to the organization, even with the suspicions of manipulation of results in some games of the last year, there is no possibility of suspension of games. The CBF mentioned that it is investing in game monitoring in partnership with a company that “is known worldwide for its expertise in this type of work”.
PM-GO investigates match-fixing scheme in Série A
In the PM-GO operation, arrest and search and seizure warrants were carried out in 16 municipalities in six states (Goiás, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina).
“The investigation indicates that the manipulations were diverse and aimed, for example, at ensuring the punishment of a certain player for yellow card, red card, commission of maximum penalty, in addition to ensuring the number of corners during the match and even the score of defeat of a certain team at halftime,” said the PM-GO in a note.
“There are indications that the conduct previously requested from players sought to enable those investigated to achieve large profits in bets made on sports houses websites, also using accounts registered on behalf of third parties to increase income”, the statement also states.
According to the investigations obtained during Operation Maximum Penalty II, “there are suspicions that the criminal group has actually acted in at least five Serie A games of the 2022 Brazilian Football Championship, as well as in five championship matches states”.
In a recent press conference, promoter Fernando Cesconetto, from PM-GO, said that “the investigation started with five matches in the final stretch of the 2022 Brasileirão”:
- Santos x Avai (on November 5th, and in which there is suspicion of a scheme for an athlete from Santos to receive a yellow card),
- Bragantino x América-MG (on November 5th and in which there is a suspicion that there is a scheme for a Bragantino player to receive a yellow card),
- Goiás x Juventude (on November 5th and in which two athletes from Juventude would be expected to receive a yellow card),
- Cuiabá x Palmeiras (on November 6th and in which a player from Cuiabá should have received a yellow card).
- Santos x Botafogo (on November 10th and in which a Santos player should wear red).
According to Agência Brasil, the possibility was also raised that there may be a scheme related to the game between Palmeiras and Juventude, on September 10 and in which an athlete from Juventude would need to receive a yellow card.
According to the PM-GO promoter, each athlete approached by the gang to join the match-fixing scheme in Série A do Brasileiro would earn between R$50,000 and R$60,000.
“Twenty arrest warrants were issued [one in Goiás, three in Rio Grande do Sul, two in Santa Catarina, one in Rio de Janeiro, two in Pernambuco and 11 in the state of São Paulo] in addition to three preventive arrests in the state. state of São Paulo. Among those investigated are players and intermediaries, not ruling out that these people are also football players”, declared Fernando Cesconetto.
Operation Maximum Penalty
Operation Maximum Penalty II is an offshoot of Operation Maximum Penalty, promoted in February 2023 and which resulted in the filing of a complaint, already received by the Judiciary, with the imputation of the crimes of integrating a criminal organization and corruption in sports.
