Brazilian authorities arrested on Tuesday three people accused of belonging to a mafia that manipulated the results of football matches in Brazil, including some from Brasileirão, the first division of the championship.
In an operation ordered by a judge in the central state of Goiás, police and the public administration ministry also carried out raids in 16 municipalities in six different Brazilian states, the state ministry said in a statement.
Authorities have not released the names of those arrested in the so-called Pena Maxima II operation, but the press claims one of the targets is defender Victor Ramos, currently a Chapecoense player who played for clubs such as Palmeiras. Vasco da Gama and Vitoria. , as well as for the Mexican club Monterrey.
According to a public ministry statement, there are indications that the criminal organization manipulated the results of at least five games of the Brazilian Championship in the first division in 2022, as well as five other games of regional tournaments.
Mafia members offered up to 100,000 reais (about 18,000 euros) to football players who wanted to try to manipulate the results of some games, according to those responsible for the investigation.
“The investigation shows that the manipulations were of a different nature and were aimed, for example, at ensuring that the player was marked with a yellow card or even sent off for committing a penalty in favor of the opposing team,” the report says.
The goal was to benefit members of the organization who bet on online platforms.
Today’s operation follows another one that a few weeks ago revealed suspicions of fixing the game in the Brazilian second division championship in 2022.
The first investigation was launched at the end of last year, after a Vila Nova player admitted to receiving 150,000 reais (about 28,000 euros) for taking a penalty against Sport in the second division of the Brazilian championship.
Since the player was not pre-selected for the game, he tried to convince some of his teammates who reported the offer to the club’s directors and allowed the existence of a criminal organization to be established.
The first process allowed the Ministry of State to bring specific charges against eight players from different clubs for match-fixing, including Romario (Vila Nova), Joseph (Tombense), Mateusinho (Cuiaba) and Paulo Sergio (Operario).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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