The recent scandal in Brazilian football caused by the discovery of manipulation in the results of matches due to sports betting began to be investigated through the CPI of sports betting.
The manipulation of soccer match results is being investigated by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) and will hear those responsible for Operation Penalty Maximum, from the Goiás Public Prosecutor’s Office, which investigates the enticement of players to rig the result of state championship matches and of the Brazilian Championship.
Invitation requests to prosecutor Fernando Cesconetto and attorney general Cyro Terra Peres, both from MP-GO, were approved this Tuesday (23). They should be heard in a public hearing next Tuesday (30).
Launched in early April, the MP’s task force has already denounced 16 people for manipulating the results of 13 football matches.
The commission will also listen to Hugo Jorge Bravo, president of Vila Nova Futebol (GO), who denounced cases of match-fixing committed within his own club, initiating the operation of the MP.
Another approved application requests access by the CPI to the content of ongoing investigations.
In addition to analyzing the MP’s material, deputy Ricardo Silva (PSD-SP) highlighted the importance of investigating the origin of funding for agreements between athletes and gamblers, which had the objective of purposely altering the outcome of matches.
“We need to move on to the origin of the money, because we have an ongoing investigation by the Public Ministry, but we will have a deeper mission to reach the big fish, to prove who is financing this”, said the parliamentarian.
In the same vein, deputy Jilmar Tatto (PT-SP) said: “I hope that not only the players involved in this are determined, but we know that there are millions at stake, there is a lot of money from these gamblers and we have to find out who they are. these people who cheat the results”.
Sports betting CPI work plan
The rapporteur of the CPI, deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), stated that the work of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry is not limited to what has already been investigated by the MP-GO.
“The investigations are not limited to what has already been found and the ongoing police investigations. This means that other athletes and bettors not yet mentioned can be reached, such as club directors and other sports professionals”, he said.
In his work plan, approved this Tuesday, the rapporteur also states that the CPI may present a legislative proposal to regulate some issues not yet addressed by the current law, such as online betting.
“We cannot lose sight of the fact that, although there have been, since 2010, at least three specific criminal types to punish the alleged practice of manipulation of results in competitive sports events, these illegalities continue to occur and perhaps on a larger scale due to the great gain finance,” he said.
The forecast is that the opinion will be presented to the commission on September 18th.
During the meeting, deputies Ricardo Ayres (Republicanos-TO) and Washington Quaquá (PT-RJ) spoke in favor of new regulations on sports betting. “A new legislation to give comfort to athletes and also to people who practice betting”, stressed Ayres.
women’s football
Finally, the CPI will extend its work to professional games in the women’s championship. In justification, the rapporteur pointed out that the irregularities “are not restricted only to men’s professional football”, since “women’s professional football is also already being affected by this plague”.
