On Wednesday, the lower house of Brazil’s Congress announced the launch of an investigation into the football match-fixing scandal that has shaken the South American country.
The third inquiry into possible wrongdoing by football players who reportedly ensured to receive cautions and conceded penalties in exchange for bribes has been opened.
A minimum of 120 days of the congressional investigation will be devoted to hearing testimony from athletes, club officials, and business leaders from sports betting companies. Both the Goias state district attorney’s office and the federal police of Brazil are participating in the matter, and both organizations will be able to use the results of Congress’ probe in their own inquiries.
The 34 MPs who will participate in the investigation will get together once more on Tuesday to decide on their initial demands for papers and testimony.
According to the results of the Goias attorney’s office’s initial inquiry, players were paid between $10,000 and $20,000 to take certain activities, such as receiving yellow cards and conceding penalty kicks. Then alleged criminals would benefit from online gambling.
Congressman Felipe Carreras stated, “Our intention is to do away with these crimes in Brazilian football, which hurt the passion of millions of fans.” “This scandal is the largest in Brazilian football history. Our football’s reputation is under danger. We are unsure of whether a certain yellow card, red card, or penalty was intended to occur or not.
Carreras added that one of the objectives of the legislative investigation is to provide information for new legislation to control sports betting in the nation of South America. Those firms support a number of top-flight division clubs as sponsors.
The probe began in November with a focus on three games and has since expanded to 11 games, some of which were played in lesser levels.
The matches took place throughout the first three months of this year and the second half of 2022. On Monday, a district attorney warned The Associated Press that the scandal might have an international impact. According to local media, accused perpetrators stated having contacts in Lithuania, Greece, and the United States.
Eight football players from Brazil’s first and second divisions were among 16 people accused of participating in the plan who had charges accepted against them days earlier by a Goias court. All of those athletes were suspended by Brazil’s sports court on Tuesday.
Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, a former senator and chairman of Flamengo, told the AP that the congressional investigation will be essential for raising awareness of the investigation.
“This will have a learning impact. Any young athlete considering joining this plan will think twice, according to de Mello.
When Colorado Rapids midfielder Max Alves played for the team, the legislator served as Flamengo’s chairman. Despite not being charged, Alves was named in the investigation, and his MLS team suspended him. Alves has not made any public remarks.
“That makes me really sad. These players came from Flamengo’s youth levels, and we always had a really warm relationship with them,” de Mello remarked. “All I can do is pray that his involvement was as minimal as possible.”
Local teams are already protesting against an executive order that the Brazilian government is purportedly drafting to tax sports betting companies.
