Julio Casares claims that he had no knowledge of schemes of this type and says that accusations risk players’ careers
The president of SPFC (Sao Paulo soccer club), Julio Casares, stated this Wednesday (May 22, 2024) that he was not aware of any initiative to manipulate matches in Brazilian football until the topic appeared in the media. The team’s representative was the first leader to appear before the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) on the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting, in the Federal Senate.
“I never saw, except in later events in the media and what the Court determined, the correct punishments. But I never saw it within the scope of São Paulo Futebol Clube”, declared Casares.
The director also commented on the accusations about players from São Paulo having actively worked on an alleged manipulation of a match with Palmeiras in 2023, in Series A of the Brazilian Championship.
The matter was dealt with, in April, by John Textor, owner of SAF do Botafogo. Textor claims that 5 athletes from the São Paulo club participated in the scheme, without revealing their names, based on artificial intelligence resources.
Casares said he knows his players and trusts their nature. He also stated that accusations of this type must be made very carefully, as they directly affect the work and social lives of professionals.
“It is often irresponsible to make this value judgment. Look, that player had 80% of incorrect passes. That doesn’t mean he’s involved. Are there signs? So, you have to find out. But responsibility has to be measured in what we say”, he stated.
THE COMMISSION
The CPI was installed at the request of the senator Romário (PL-RJ). In the request, the congressman cites an alleged scheme of recruiting players and managers to manipulate results in football matches in the country. Here’s the complete of the document (PDF – 342 kB).
The text also mentions a company report Sports Radar which lists 109 matches with alerts of suspected manipulation in 2023, in addition to investigations on the subject being carried out by the Public Ministry of Goiás.
“It is important that this CPI brings regulation on this matter, it can contribute a lot. Here is the example of a measure, of a punishment, because this way people know that they could be punished. We all want transparent football, because the biggest victim of all this, in the end, is the football lover, who believes in football”said Casares.
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