After opening the works, deputy Júlio Arcoverde (PP-PI), gave the floor to the president of Vila Nova, Hugo Jorge Bravo, who stated that it was “an obligation” to denounce the facts that reached him. “This operation comes at an important moment for Brazilian football and if it didn't happen now, in 3 or 4 years it would be completely contaminated.”
“Athletes who were recruited until then became recruiters. Brazilian football represents practically 1% of the national GDP and is responsible for being the biggest exporter of athletes in the world. The regulation arrived with the aim of raising revenue, but with the CPI, it will also focus on protecting integrity in football and this will be important for combating illegal practices,” he added.
According to him, bookmakers and clubs are the most affected by the practice of match-fixing. “We cannot accept that an athlete, in an isolated action, jeopardizes the work of honest people,” he said. “Today, bookmakers are the biggest sponsors of clubs and relations are very professional,” he said, making clear the importance of the partnership.
Cyro Terra Peres, Attorney General of the MP-GO, said that “we want to make our contribution in the work of this CPI to protect fans and clubs, as well as all the economic and social sphere that football covers in our country. That is why I am in favor of regulating the sector to combat illegal practices.”
Manipulation was punctual
“Our work investigated specific facts and the behavior of certain people. The operation has not detected, so far, manipulation that would systematically compromise the championships. Most athletes and officials are honest and want honesty. We need to protect the fairness of competitions because football is a heritage of the Brazilian people,” said Terra Peres.
Then, Fernando Cesconetto, public prosecutor of the State of Goiás, made a retrospective on how the accusations reached him and the importance of the information provided by the president of Vila Nova, “which allowed us to identify the cores of funders, gamblers and intermediaries, in addition to the administrative support core. Each one has its function,” he explained, making the gang formation aspect clear. “They added mechanisms to try to circumvent the algorithms so as not to attract the attention of bookmakers.”
The rapporteur Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE) thanked the president of Vila Nova for denouncing the manipulation of results in football and the MP authorities of Goiás for being at the forefront of the investigations.
Punishment and education
“Brazilian football is sick and in crisis. This CPI will not end in pizza. It will give punitive and educational results for us to have legislation that will protect one of the greatest assets of the Brazilian people, which is football,” said Carreras.
To the MP, Carreras asked if, in addition to the championships now investigated, there are indications of other championships defrauded by the criminal organization.
Cesconetto said that not only the 2022 Brasileirão, but some state tournaments this year were also pointed out. “We are investigating, as there were indications and attempts,” he said.
According to the promoter, all bookmakers have mechanisms to detect abnormal movements in bets, which demonstrates that they seek security in their operations.
Lack of regulation hinders investigation
Continuing, Cyro stated, also responding to the rapporteur, that “the lack of regulation harms the calculation, especially due to the lack of a flow of information between all the bodies linked to the championships.”
According to him, “so far, we have not detected any involvement of bookmakers with manipulation practices. They appear in the complaints presented as victims of the fraudulent scheme.”
For more than two and a half hours, several deputies questioned the way in which the investigations were conducted, without major issues having been further explored, making the public hearing tiresome in the opinion of even the meeting participants, who at the last minute decided to speed up the way the questions would be addressed, with no new facts remaining during the presentations.
Voting postponed
After the end of the questions and answers phase by the guests, the president of the CPI closed the session before the end of the voting on the requirements. Only one summons was approved, that of Rodrigo Alves, president of the Brazilian Sports Betting Association (ABAESP).
The others will be analyzed and voted on next week, in the regimental session of the CPI.
Source: GMB
