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Brazil’s second parliamentary investigation (CPI) into match-fixing kicked off with a bang last week as the American president of famous Rio de Janeiro football team Botafogo testified that he has proof of match-fixing occurring.
John Textor, Botafogo’s president who also owns a stake in European football clubs Crystal Palace and Lyon, claimed that match-fixing has been at play for years in the highest echelons of Brazilian football.
He said that he had handed his evidence over to the police.
Textor testified that by using the company Good Game!’s software to analyse matches, many occasions of possible fraud were detected, including the positioning of VAR cameras away from possible penalties.
He clarified that he was not accusing other teams such as Palmeiras and São Paulo of being behind the fraud, but that evidence of fraud occurring had been detected.
Leila Pereira, the president of São Paulo's Palmeiras, nevertheless retaliated on Monday (April 22) by calling Textor an idiot on live television and saying he should be banned from Brazilian football.
“We have already filed a civil lawsuit against him,” she said, “and requested the opening of a police investigation to investigate the allegations he is making. And it proves absolutely nothing. I think this is an aberration, a shame.”
It is not the only lawsuit that Textor is reported to be facing for his comments.
Ednaldo Rodrigues, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), who according to Brazilian newspaper of record Folha de S. Paulo has received conciliatory messages from Textor, has claimed he is considering legal recourse and pursuing civil damages for allegedly tainting the reputation of Brazilian football.
Textor, in a statement through his lawyers at Bichara e Motta in Brazil, said: “We’re extremely pleased that the senators showed the courage to take our evidence seriously, as there certainly were disturbing impacts on last year‘s championship season.”
The National Association of Football Referees has called for the postponement of the Brazilian Championship this year in light of Textor’s testimony. Senator Jorge Kajuru, the president of the Senate CPI, has seconded the idea.
Textor responded: “The decision regarding the continuation of this year’s championship is above my pay grade, but we are now monitoring all games with computer vision, aligned with the ‘laws of the game’. So if the games do continue, and I hope they do, I trust that they will be completely clean.”
The Senate CPI continued its work on Wednesday with members of the panel approving a motion to hold a public hearing on allegations of match-fixing and betting corruption.
Further motions were also approved to call forward various witnesses to testify before the Senate panel. Those due to be summoned include Regis Dudena, the newly appointed secretary for Brazil's Prizes and Bets Secretariat, as well as various CBF officials and local representatives of both Sportradar and Genius Sports.
The Senate investigation is set to continue a high-profile focus on allegations of betting fraud and match-fixing in Brazil that first exploded early last year through an investigation launched by prosecutors in the state of Goias.
The timing of the Senate probe is also awkward as it coincides with Brazil's government belatedly implementing a regulatory regime for sports betting in line with two federal laws approved in 2018 and in December last year.
In theory, the Senate investigation could result in legislative recommendations to impose more specific restrictions on legal sports betting in Brazil, such as prohibitions on certain bet types.
Additional reporting by James Kilsby.
