Brazil football match-fixing scandal has international reach, investigator says

SAO PAULO (AP) The lead investigator into Brazil’s massive match-fixing scandal says he’s uncovered potential evidence of wrongdoing by players from other countries, and he hopes foreign authorities use the findings of his team to launch their own investigations.

Goias State District Attorney Fernando Cesconetto said in interviews with The Associated Press between Saturday and Monday that the case of Colorado Rapids midfielder Max Alves, who was allegedly named in the investigation , could be prosecuted in the United States.

There are conversations about the contacts of punters here with athletes abroad. And at the appropriate time that will be shared (with foreign authorities), said Cesconetto. (Alves) his own club pre-emptively suspended the athlete after reports from here. Sharing our investigation so that it can be studied is the natural way.

O Globo reported last week that Alves, who is Brazilian, had been named in the investigation. Major League Soccer’s Rapids confirmed in a statement that a player suspended in connection with the case is with their squad, but did not identify him. Alves has not commented publicly.

The investigation began in November, focusing on three games, and has expanded to 11 games, although some are in lower leagues. The matches took place over the second half of 2022 and the first three months of this year, the district attorney said.

Investigators said players were offered between $10,000 and $20,000 to perform specific actions, such as receiving yellow cards and taking penalty kicks. Suspected criminals would take advantage of betting sites.

Local media reported that suspected criminals mentioned having contacts in Greece and Lithuania, which Cesconetto did not confirm.

There is still a lot of material to review, he said. We are more focused on what happened here in Brazil.

Part of the cooperation with foreign authorities could also go through the Brazilian Federal Police. Justice Minister Flavio Dino said on Wednesday he would launch a nationwide investigation into match-fixing. The country’s congress is also expected to launch its own investigation this week.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement that it had asked the government to investigate in order to centralize all information on the cases under investigation.

A series of videos broadcast by TV Globo on Sunday showed suspects celebrating when players allegedly involved in the scheme were sanctioned or committed penalties in Serie A, Serie B or state league matches.

Another video showed a man holding a gun and suggesting he could shoot Santos defender Eduardo Bauermann because the player allegedly failed to deliver.

The AP had access to the file against Bauermann and other players. Evidence with Goias investigators suggests Bauermann exchanged text messages offering to fix games and suggested in November he could bring in two of his teammates to help with the scheme. Bauermann’s attorneys have denied wrongdoing by their client.

Also on Monday, prosecutors at Brazil’s sports court recommended the precautionary suspension of eight players charged by Cesconetto last week.

A player named in the media who has not been charged, 37-year-old right-back Nino Paraiba, has had his contract with top-flight team America terminated. Other Brazilian clubs made similar decisions last week.

It’s a minority of games, a minority of athletes who are ready to do so, said the district attorney of Goias. These are people who tried to cheat the betting companies as they were looking for an easy profit. And they did it in an organized and repeatable way.

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