Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Public Security has announced a federal investigation into match-fixing in Brazilian soccer. The measure was taken after it was discovered
that athletes from top-division clubs may have collaborated with gangs that acted through sports betting.
The Goias state Public Prosecutor's office had accused 16 individuals of manipulating the outcomes of 13 soccer matches in Brazil's Serie A and Serie B, as well as the state championship in 2022 and 2023.
One player was reportedly given $100,000 for a red card, with $10,000 paid to him before the game. Justice Minister Flavio Dino has called for an inquiry to be established at the Federal Police to investigate the manipulation of results in sports competitions. Some Brazilian soccer clubs have pre-emptively suspended players as a result of the investigation.
The Colorado Rapids, a Major League Soccer club in the United States, confirmed that one of their players is connected to the scandal. MLS has also suspended one current and one former player, pending investigations into the matter. The Brazilian Football Confederation has pledged to support the inquiry and to take concrete action to prevent any further crimes or illicit actions in soccer. Photo by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, Wikimedia commons.