(THE GUARDIAN) - The final-day La Liga victory against Valladolid that secured Valencia's place in the Champions League was prearranged by a criminal gang and up to seven players from the losing side, according to remarks from the judge investigating match-fixing in Spain.
Wire taps carried out by police over the past six months, following suspicions raised by a second division game between Huesca and Gimnastic de Tarragona at the end of the 2017-18 season, have now allegedly caught the former footballer Carlos Aranda, suspected of being the leader of the conspiracy, outlining the result required and claiming that seven players had been bought.
According to extracts of the investigation which were published in the newspaper El Mundo, the former Real Madrid and Leeds United defender Raúl Bravo, accused of organising match-fixing with Aranda, met the Valladolid captain Borja Fernández in a bar during the build-up to the final game of the season.
Fernández then set up a meeting with a number of players. In one of the recordings, Aranda can allegedly be heard saying: "Look brother, Valencia have to win the first half and in the second, OK?"
Valencia won 2-0, with a goal in each half. Valladolid had secured survival the week before, while Valencia needed to win to take the final Champions League place.
Their 2-0 victory denied Getafe the chance to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history. There is no suggestion that Valencia, owned by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, were involved in the conspiracy in any way or were aware of it.
Prosecutors believe that this was driven by gambling, not the interests of the clubs. The initial investigation began when the league alerted to suspicious betting patterns at the end of last season in the second division; now the investigation has expanded to include this highly significant first-division match.
In one of the recordings, according to El Mundo, Aranda is heard telling someone: "No one can find out about this and no one means no one, eh. Not your friends, no one."
That same day, wire taps are said to reveal that he called the bookmakers he owns in Málaga and said: "Bet €10,000 (S$15,420) and you'll take €20,000."
Â
He and Bravo were among those arrested last week, accused of leading the criminal gang. They were released on bail having been in jail in Zuera, Zaragoza province.
Fernández was also arrested. All three have denied any wrongdoing.
Borja's representatives put out a statement saying that the player does not even bet and his agent, Gustavo Mateos, told Radio Marca: "He has no doubt about his honour but he is worried. He has asked me to tell the people of Valladolid not to doubt him, that they (can) trust in their captain. Everything will be cleared up. He is sunk. He answered every question: he is the person most interested in finding out what has happened."
When Aranda was released from prison, he said: "In the end, they have put in (prison) those who have the least guilt. I would like to thank the people from the jail, the people from Zaragoza in prison and Huesca. We don't know why (we're here). That's why we came, because we don't know (why) and nor do they."
Bravo said: "Thanks to the local police, the national police, civil guard, judge and fiscal because the truth is that the treatment has been spectacular from the start, they have treated us very well and I can't say anything more. At trial, who is guilty and who is not will be seen."
Mauricio Pochettino said Tottenham paid the price for thinking their match against Wolves was won in the first half, as they then couldn't raise the "energy" necessary to win the game, after
Spurs press conference live: Pochettino on - football.london
Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - May 4, 2019 Tottenham's Moussa Sissoko shakes hands with manager Mauricio Pochettino
Soccer: Pochettino defiant as poor Tottenham form continues
rajanayachronicles.com/?p=121777
Soccer: Pochettino defiant as poor Tottenham form continues Share Tweet (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino remained defiant despite his side preparing for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Ajax Amsterdam in disjointed fashion as they had two men sent off in a 1-0 defeat by Bournemouth.
Football: Rashford, Martial give lacklustre Man United win over Watford The Straits Times Football news - Anthony Martial set to miss PSG return leg for injury-hit United
Manchester United vs Watford highlights and reaction as
Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu's
Football: Bologna earn Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio thriller. 38 minutes ago. Share this content Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via E-Mail ROME: Bologna secured their top flight survival on Monday with a 3-3 draw at Lazio enough to keep the northerners in Serie A next
Bologna earn 'miracle' Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/05/20/bologna-earn-miracle-serie-a-survival-in-six-goal-lazio-thriller/
Bologna earn 'miracle' Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio thriller AFP May 20, 2019 AFP No Comments Rome (AFP) - Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic hailed his team for pulling off a "miracle" to secure their top flight survival with a 3-3 draw at Lazio on Monday enough to keep the northerners in Serie A next season.
Bologna earn 'miracle' Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio
Chelsea Not In Premier League Title Race, Says Sarri. during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Chelsea at The London Stadium, in east London on September 23
Chelsea not in Premier League title race, says Sarri
The Spurs need to pick up a free agent guard who can score. Jamal Crawford is a possibility, although I'd like to see someone younger and more athletic, but having him around to mentor Dejounte
Hugo Lloris says that Spurs need to believe they can win the
Wolves reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1998, beating United 2-1 Jimenez, Jota slay United as Wolves reach FA Cup semis by beating last year's runners-up
Jimenez, Jota slay United as Wolves reach FA Cup semis
NICOSIA (REUTERS) - Eden Hazard marked his 100th cap with an early goal to set Belgium on their way to a comfortable 2-0 away win over Cyprus in their Euro 2020 qualifier on Sunday (March 24)..
Hazard marks milestone with early goal to help Belgium win
A record audience of more than 3.5 billion people watched this year's World Cup in Russia, with the final between France and Croatia attracting 1.1 billion viewers, world football's governing body
FIFA research says record audience watched 'best World Cup
Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga title for a seventh straight season after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 to finish ahead of rivals Borussia Dortmund. The Bavarians, who can secure a domestic
Bayern Munich win Bundesliga title for seventh successive
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Fulham - St James Park, Newcastle, Britain - December 22, 2018 Fulhams Joe Bryan in action with Newcastle Uniteds Kenedy REUTERS/Scott Heppell (Reuters) - NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 FULHAM 0
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet
Women's World Cup: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria
0 comments:
Post a Comment