In the first public hearing of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on match-fixing in football, participants in the debate highlighted the need for legal measures to curb this type of crime. President of Vila Nova Futebol Clube, in Goiás, and the first to denounce fraudulent schemes to the Public Prosecutor's Office, Hugo Jorge Bravo considers it essential, for example, to create police stations specialized in investigating sports crimes.
He also defends that the law prohibits betting on isolated events of the matches, such as yellow or red cards and penalties. For Bravo, bets must concern only the final result of the games. For him, small championships without much expression, such as under-17 or under-20, should also not be the subject of bets.
“It is important that you have a sensitivity to restrict some events that are the subject of bets. We cannot imagine that an under-20 championship in Acre is the object of bets by people from anywhere in the world, we cannot imagine that yellow cards can be the object of bets, we cannot imagine that a penalty in the first half can be betting object, because any and all individual actions will facilitate corruption,” he pondered.
During the opening of the CPI, Bravo asked for the floor and demanded an investigation into the match between Chapecoense and Náutico, in the penultimate round of Série B last year. The leader said he believed in signs of manipulation. In the match, ‘Verdão do Norte’ won by 1 to 0 and got rid of relegation to the Terceirona (third division).
"I am absolutely sure that (Náutico) was mocked by punters, I challenge any of the deputies. I cannot be inconsistent and unfair, but I cannot fail to say that the penalty that happened in Chapecoense x Náutico has to be analyzed this house," said Hugo Jorge Bravo.
Days after the game, Náutico claimed, through former player Kuki and today in the club’s technical commission, that the game would have been "bought".
Bravo believes that Brazilian football could be contaminated if Operation Maximum Penalty, by the Public Ministry of Goiás (MP-GO), had not been triggered in 2023. In the opinion of the manager, the scenario could occur in “three, four years.” In testimony at the sports betting CPI, Bravo suggested the creation of a specialized police division to investigate cases of match-fixing.
"If it were four, five years from now, we would have that problem similar to foot-and-mouth disease, we would have the world closing itself off to the Brazilian product. So, this operation came at a very important moment," said the director in his speech at the CPI of sports betting, at the Chamber of Deputies, in Brasilia.
After the deposition, which lasted 20 minutes, the president of Vila Nova was questioned by the deputies that make up the CPI. In the opinion of the ‘Colorado’ manager, there is no reason to paralyze Brazilian football.
"Not at all, if there's a moment in the championship that won't be a problem, it's now. Only if you're crazy to intervene at this time. Fans can go calmly (to the stadium). In order not to discredit Brazilian football, they were individual events that did not affect the result of the match," said Bravo.
He explained that the issue of match-fixing has been discussed for some time in a "superficial" way in football clubs. He official believes that, based on the sports betting scandal, Brazilian teams will be able to "educate" players that integrate base categories through conversations and lectures with promoters, for example.
Source: GMB
