During the afternoon session on Wednesday (24), the CPI for the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting approved several requests. Among them are invitations to the presidents of Tombense, Lane Gaviolle, and Londrina, Getúlio Marques Castilho, to provide clarifications to the senators.
Senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO), president of the parliamentary commission of inquiry, is the author of the two requests (REQs 3/2024 and 4/2024).
According to Kajuru, the match between the Tombense and Londrina teams in Series B, which took place on May 19, 2023, is under investigation by the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) due to suspicions of result manipulation.
He highlighted that signs point to suspicious betting activities related to the number of yellow and red cards during the game, especially bets made by people from the same region as the referee who played in the match.
In addition to invitations to club presidents, the CPI approved requests to hear other key figures. José Perdiz de Jesus, president of the STJD, and Eduardo Gussem, Integrity officer at the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), were invited to speak about their work in preventing and repressing cases of match-fixing.
The committee’s rapporteur, Senator Romário (PL-RJ), is the author of these two requests. Another nomination by Romário, approved by the CPI, invites the Secretary of Prizes and Bets of the Ministry of Finance, Régis Anderson Dudena.
Referees under investigation at the Game Manipulation CPI
The CPI will also seek clarification from several football referees. The vice-president of the commission, senator Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE), presented a request to invite the president of the CBF Arbitration Commission, Wilson Luiz Seneme. The invitation was approved.
Senator Kajuru requested, through a request (REQ 38/2024), that Raphael Claus, another prominent arbitrator, appear before the CPI to provide clarifications. The invitation also received the green light. Kajuru proposes that Raphael Claus’ testimony take place in a secret meeting.
Furthermore, the CPI approved the summons of Glauber do Amaral Cunha, a former football referee, to a secret meeting.
Senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), author of the request, emphasized the importance of confidentiality to guarantee the full cooperation of the deponent and the integrity of the investigation process.
Cunha must provide clarification on an audio in which he was allegedly negotiating bribes for manipulation in a lower division match of the Campeonato Carioca.
Portinho took the opportunity to request responsibility from the press in covering the CPI’s work, highlighting the need to avoid sensationalism. He refuted allegations that the leaked audio of the alleged bribery was from Raphael Claus, highlighting that it is unfair to associate Claus with this incident.
Portinho proposes a public hearing to discuss measures to prevent and combat the manipulation of sports results after the regulation of betting in Brazil.
The audience will have representatives from several sports entities, including the CBF, the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV), Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) and others in the sector.
Report under analysis
President Kajuru informed that he will send the commission’s authorities the rules for access to CPI documentation, aiming to preserve the integrity and suitability of the documents received.
He also announced the release of the report and documents delivered by businessman John Textor at the previous CPI meeting. The Senate Consultancy will begin analyzing the report brought by the owner of Botafogo from today.
Finally, Kajuru called a new remote meeting of the CPI for Monday (29), at 3 pm. Highlighting that, although there are signs, it is necessary to investigate in depth to transform them into concrete evidence.
