Scandal over gamblers in Colombian soccer: new complaints

It's not new to eColombian footballthat there is talk of investigations to referees and players when the topic of illegal betting in the games. A new complaint is already known.

This Friday, the journalist Carlos Antonio Velez He made the complaint in his RCN Antena 2 program in which he assured that the behavior of several players and referees in two Colombian league matches that the team played is being investigated. Patriots of Boyacá.
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What is known

“A group of bettors called on a player to help change the outcome of a game and convince other of their teammates to help,” Vélez said.

And he added: “There are initially two parties that are under investigation. There is a changed referee and the invitation to another player to take a dive in the area so that a penalty is awarded.”

Likewise, it was learned that at the moment there are five players summoned to testify and one is separated from Patriotas training.

What Dimayor says

EL TIEMPO consulted with Fernando Jaramillopresident of the Dimayor, who was cautious when commenting on the facts of illegal betting.

“I cannot give more information because there is an ongoing investigation. Anything said on the subject can contaminate the investigation. Obviously, it is an issue that has to be handled from the Prosecutor's Office because it is the entity that has the investigative tools that sports justice does not have,” said Jaramillo.

Asked about the complaint, Cesar Guzmanpresident of Patriotas, pointed out that the club asked the Colombian Football Federation the audios of VAR of the two games that they have suspicions about, but they were not given them.

“Betting is a real threat in world sport, in all disciplines. Precisely, work is being done in the country to maintain alert and alarm systems so that when irregular situations are detected they can be reported and avoided from the beginning,” Jaramillo added.

Other complaints

In May 2023, a scandal broke out due to alleged match-fixing, in which players fromand Boca Juniors of Cali, team that plays in the promotion tournament.

Alejandro GuerreroBoca coach, made the complaint at the press conference after the match he lost this Saturday against Sports Quindío (1-2), a result that left the Cali club in penultimate place in the standings.

“There are situations that have arisen this semester, it is uncovering everything. A statement has been sent to the directors by Dimayor and the Federation stating that there are situations that have arisen since 2018. What has been occurring, what is “They have fixed the matches. In that letter they announce that they are coming to investigate the entire management team, the coaching staff and the players,” said Guerrero, who has been in charge of the team since December of that year, when he was still playing as Popayán University.

Guerrero was disappointed by what happened and distanced himself from the alleged rigging. “I think one can be the baddest coach in the world, but we can no longer control the match-fixing situation as technical directors. I'm not making anything up, you can contact the team president, Alexander Otero Polanco: “He can tell them the same thing, that they are things outside of football and that they have played against the coaching staff and in this case mine,” he said.

“I may be the worst coach in the world, because I do not have the technical-tactical ability to resolve games, but I cannot control what was evident on the part of some players,” added the coach.

The last one punished for match fixing in Colombia

The last precedent of a sanction for match-fixing in Colombian football was in 2017, when Francisco Javier Navasthen a Deportes Quindío player, was suspended for two years.

This Saturday, Boca Juniors de Cali completed 13 games without winning in the promotion tournament. Since he started playing in B, in mid-2019, with the record that Universitario de Popayán had, he never qualified for home runs.

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