Footballer Daniel Esteves is the second time he has been convicted for sports betting, after referee Andre Balthasar was also sanctioned by the Disciplinary Council (CD) of the Portuguese federation last year.
There have been a number of similar cases reported abroad in the past year, some of which have made headlines, such as Englishman Ivan Toney of Brentford in the Premier League or midfielders Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Fagioli of Newcastle and Juventus respectively .
Tony was suspended by the English Federation for eight months and fined €55,000, Tonali was suspended by the Italian Federation for a total of 18 months (10 of which were effective and eight of which were spent in therapy) and Fagioli was given a sanction. lasting 12 months (five of which will also be spent in therapy).
In Portugal, a second case was announced on Friday when CD FPF sentenced 29-year-old footballer Daniel Estevez, currently without a club, to a one-year ban for “participation in sports betting, including those related to official matches in Portugal” . that he participated.”
In accordance with Article 6, paragraph i) of the Legal Regime of Online Gaming and Betting, certain sports participants are prohibited from playing and betting online, including practitioners, both professional and amateur, and referees, when they directly or indirectly have or may have any interference in the outcome of events.
The facts relate to the 2021/22 season, when Daniel Esteves played for Marinhense in Serie D of the Portuguese Championship, placing, according to the disciplinary body, 663 bets on official games organized by the FPF and the Portuguese Football League (FPF and Portuguese Football League). LPFP) during the period from July 1, 2021 to January 16, 2022.
The extensive list of bets includes two Marinhense games in which the player bet on his team to win and in which he participated, as a starter, with Vitoria de Cernache and Priense, on October 24 and 31, 2021 respectively, according to the resolution published by the compact -disc.
“Since the beginning of the 2021/2022 sports season, the defendant Daniel Estevez had a conflictual relationship with his teammates and coach, and it was known publicly, in the locker room, that the athlete who made a bet in the bookmakers, as he often asked, rented money to his teammates to fund his account on the betting platform and did not return the money,” reads the document released by the FPF CD.
The same ruling of the CD also emphasized that “during the 2021/22 sports season, the accused player began to get nervous and regularly use his mobile phone, which affected not only his concentration, but also his performance in games, and, initially, he was considered the best player teams.”
Taking into account what is enshrined in the FPF Disciplinary Regulations, and more precisely in paragraph 3 of Article 142, regarding game manipulation and unsportsmanlike bets, “when a bet is made on a game in which he participates or participates, the player is still punished by disqualification for a period of 1 up to 3 sports seasons.”
At the same time, Daniel Estevez, who after terminating his contract with Marinhense in January 2022 by mutual agreement, still represented Alqueidan da Serra in the Leiria district until the end of the 2022/23 season, was suspended for one sporting season and subject to sanctions. fine of 1020 euros.
However, he was eventually granted amnesty, and the case materials were sent to the archives in view of Law No. 38-A/2023, which establishes pardon of sentences and amnesty for offenses committed before 00:00 hours on June 19, 2023. on the occasion of the Pope’s World Youth Day visit to Portugal last year.
About a year ago, on April 21, 2023, referee André Baltazar of the Beja Football Association was also fined €510 because it was proven that between March 1, 2018 and March 5, 2019, I placed dozens of sports bets, including games from England , Australia, Japan, Iran, India, Germany, Uzbekistan, South Korea or Thailand.
Among the 43 games he bet on, only one was related to the Portuguese tournament, specifically the Benfica-Desportivo das Aves match from the first league, played on March 10, 2018.
In his defence, Andre Balthazar admitted to his betting addiction, which prompted him to request “self-exclusion from online gaming and betting sites”.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.